Hair Drug Test Results How to Read
Test Quick Guide
Hair follicle drug testing detects evidence of drug use or misuse in a sample of hair. Drug testing can screen for the use of illegal drugs, also as the misuse of prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, and legal substances including booze and tobacco.
During hair follicle drug testing, scissors are used to remove a small sample of hair. Compared to other forms of drug testing, hair follicle drug testing offers advantages such equally a long detection window and the ability to judge patterns of drug utilise over time.
Nigh the Test
Purpose of the test
The purpose of a pilus follicle drug test is to discover bear witness of drug use or misuse in a sample of a person's hair. Drug apply refers to the use of illegal substances. Drug misuse describes using prescription drugs in a manner that isn't prescribed by a doctor or using legal substances in an unhealthy way.
Pilus follicle drug testing may be used over other types of drug tests because of its power to show a longer history of drug exposure. This type of test may be helpful when testing for chronic drug use or misuse, understanding long-term patterns of use, and confirming periods of abstinence. Pilus follicle drug testing may be used in several ways:
- Employment testing: Employers may require drug testing in many situations, including when screening task applicants, for periodic or random detection of drug utilize by employees, or after a workplace accident. Although urine drug tests are the most common method of detecting drug apply in workplaces, pilus follicle drug testing may be used past some employers.
- Forensic and legal testing: Hair samples may be collected during criminal investigations to evaluate for drug use or misuse in drug-facilitated crimes and child protection cases.
- Medical testing: Although doctors rarely analyze a pilus sample to evaluate a person's health, at that place are situations in which a hair test tin provide doctors with helpful information. For instance, hair testing can assist in post-mortem evaluations of long-term drug utilize or misuse.
- Drug rehabilitation programs: Hair testing may be used in habit medicine to detect chronic drug use and misuse, as well as empathize periods of abstinence.
What does the test measure?
Hair follicle drug tests identify drugs or drug metabolites in a sample of hair. A drug metabolite is a substance that is generated in the body equally a drug is existence broken downward and eliminated.
Once a drug is consumed, information technology enters the bloodstream and travels throughout the body. As the drug is broken down in the body, drugs and drug metabolites enter the core of the pilus through the hair follicle, sweat glands, and oil glands on the scalp. Drugs and drug metabolites remain in the hair as it grows, which occurs at a rate of about half inch each calendar month. Some drug metabolites attach to melanin, the part of a hair follicle that gives hair its color.
Hair follicle drug testing has a longer window of detection than other types of drug tests. While drug utilize and misuse may not announced in the hair until 7 to x days after drug exposure, in one case it enters the hair it remains for weeks, months, or even years. While testing hair can provide information about patterns of drug exposure, hair follicle drug testing cannot observe current intoxication.
How long drugs remain detectable in hair is called the window of detection. The length of the detection window varies based on a number of factors, including the amount and frequency of drug use or misuse and the rate at which the drug is metabolized in the body. Some drugs continue to enter new pilus growth for months after a person's terminal drug exposure.
The window of detection too varies based on the amount of hair tested. Although longer samples of hair tin be tested for drug exposure over a longer period of time, a standard sample of hair from the scalp is one.5 inches and provides information about approximately xc days of past drug exposure. A hair sample taken from a different part of the trunk where hair grows more slowly may have a detection window of up to 12 months.
Drugs that can exist detected during hair follicle drug testing include:
| Hair Follicle Drug Tests | |
|---|---|
| Test Name | Substance Measured in Hair |
| Booze (Ethanol) Testing | Drug metabolites (EtG and FAEEs) |
| Amphetamines Testing | Drugs themselves or drug metabolites |
| Barbiturates Testing | Drugs themselves or drug metabolites |
| Benzodiazepines Testing | Drugs themselves or drug metabolites |
| Cocaine Testing | Drugs themselves or drug metabolite (benzoylecgonine) |
| Marijuana (THC) Testing | Drug metabolite (THCA) |
| Nicotine and Cotinine Testing | Drug itself or drug metabolite (cotinine) |
| Opioid Testing | Drugs themselves or drug metabolite (half dozen-monoacetylmorphine) |
| Phencyclidine (PCP) Testing | Drug itself |
A hair follicle drug test may focus on detecting one specific drug in the hair or on detecting several substances in a pilus follicle drug panel. 1 commonly used pilus follicle drug console looks for bear witness of the use of five drugs or drug classes: marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, PCP, and opioids.
When should I get a hair follicle drug exam?
Hair follicle drug testing is used in workplace testing, legal and forensic testing, medical testing, and for measuring the patterns of illegal and prescription drug employ.
The use of drug tests is impacted past federal, country, and local laws. Professional person organizations advocate for the upstanding use of drug testing, oftentimes emphasizing the importance of patient education and consent before conducting a drug examination.
Many parents consider using drug testing equally a tool to prevent or ostend the utilize or misuse of drugs in children and adolescents. The American University of Pediatrics advises against this practice, citing the lack of evidence that drug testing reduces drug apply in children and adolescents, the potential for misinterpreting test results, and the negative bear on on the relationships betwixt parents and children caused by testing.
Finding a Pilus Follicle Drug Test
How to get tested
A sample of hair can be collected at home, at a laboratory, or in a medical setting.
Hair follicle drug testing tin can be ordered by a doctor or an administrator of a plan that requires drug testing. Hair follicle drug tests can also be purchased through retailers without a prescription.
Can I take the test at home?
At-domicile collection kits allow users to collect hair samples and mail them to a laboratory for analysis. At-habitation pilus follicle drug examination kits are available for purchase online and over-the-counter at a variety of retailers. Some at-home hair follicle drug tests look for only one type of drug while others offer test panels that expect for several drugs at one time.
When considering the use of an calm pilus follicle drug examination, it's important to consider whether the visitor offers confirmatory testing for positive screening results.
How much does the test cost?
The cost of pilus follicle drug testing depends on where a sample is collected, the type of hair follicle drug exam ordered, and who is paying for testing. Patient costs may be covered past an individual'due south health insurance or the organization requiring a drug examination. In other cases, patients may choose to pay out-of-pocket for laboratory-based or at-dwelling collection kits.
Patients' costs vary considerably, so information technology's important to discuss questions about the toll of testing with the doctor, insurance provider, or organization ordering the testing.
Taking a Pilus Follicle Drug Examination
Hair follicle drug tests are performed on a sample of hair, usually collected from a person'due south scalp. Once collected, hair samples are sent to a laboratory for testing.
In some cases, the drove of a hair sample volition be performed by a trained professional to prevent tampering, contamination, or exchange of the sample. Before taking a hair follicle drug test, patients should inquire the organisation requiring drug testing about requirements for hair sample collection.
Before the examination
Although there are no special precautions necessary before a pilus follicle drug test, patients should inform their doctor of medications or supplements that have recently been taken. Patients should likewise inform their doctor of whatsoever recent hair treatments, including shampooing, as these may affect examination results.
During the examination
Collecting a sample of hair at a laboratory or at domicile involves cutting a lock of hair about the thickness of a pencil from the back of the caput using scissors. During the collection process, the person cutting the hair should wear gloves to avoid contagion of the hair sample.
Hair is nerveless as close to the scalp as possible, near the hair's root, to provide information about contempo drug use. A standard sample of pilus is around i.5 inches, although in some cases a longer sample may be nerveless for additional history of drug use and misuse.
If patients don't have sufficient hair on their scalp, hair may exist collected from the confront, armpit, pubic expanse, or another unshaven office of the torso. Collecting hair is non associated with any risks, although some patients may experience embarrassment or anxiety during sample collection.
Later the examination
After a hair sample is collected, it is packaged according to instructions contained in the collection kit and sent to a laboratory for testing. There are no restrictions on activeness after a hair follicle drug examination.
In one case received past the laboratory, the pilus sample may exist done prior to testing. Specialized methods of washing the hair sample remove some external contaminants, dirt, and grease from the surface of the pilus. Drugs inside the hair are unaffected by washing.
Hair Follicle Drug Test Results
Receiving exam results
Results of hair follicle drug testing are generally bachelor within a few business days afterward the laboratory receives the sample. Processing times vary, so patients may find information technology helpful to ask their doc or the laboratory when to wait results.
Depending on the reason for testing, patients may acquire about their test results through a health intendance professional or the organization that required testing.
Interpreting test results
The results of hair follicle drug tests may be reported as positive or negative. Positive exam results indicate that a drug or its metabolite was detected in the sample of hair submitted for testing.
Negative test results indicate that no drugs or drug metabolites were detected in the hair sample. Negative results advise that a person didn't consume the drug targeted by the exam, that they used a drug outside of the test's detection window, or that an insufficient amount of the drug was consumed to be detected in the hair.
When interpreting results, it may be helpful to understand the laboratory method used for testing. Laboratory methods used in hair follicle drug testing are similar or slightly modified versions of those used in more than common forms of drug testing, similar urine drug testing. Laboratory methods used in drug testing are by and large categorized as initial or confirmatory methods:
- Initial test methods: Immunoassays are a common method of drug testing but provide only preliminary results. Results include which drug or drug classes were detected higher up the lab's cutoff for positive results. In club to reduce the gamble of inaccurate results on initial testing, positive test results should be followed by testing using a confirmatory exam method.
- Confirmatory exam methods: Confirmatory examination methods, such every bit gas or liquid chromatography, provide more detailed results than initial test methods, including specific metabolites detected in hair.
Although cutoff values for positive test results are not standard in all laboratories, the Lodge of Pilus Testing, an system that promotes research in hair testing, has proposed the following cutoff values:
| Pilus Follicle Drug Test Cutoff Values | ||
|---|---|---|
| Substance Detected | Initial Exam Cutoff | Confirmatory Test Cutoff |
| Amphetamines and drug metabolites | 0.two ng/mg | Amphetamine: 0.2 ng/mg Methamphetamine: 0.2 ng/mg MDA: 0.2 ng/mg MDMA: 0.ii ng/mg |
| Cocaine and drug metabolites | 0.v ng/mg | Cocaine: 0.5 ng/mg Cocaine Metabolites: 0.05 ng/mg |
| Marijuana metabolites | 0.1 ng/mg | THC: 0.05 ng/mg THC-COOH: 0.0002 ng/mg |
| Opiates and drug metabolites | 0.2 ng/mg | Morphine: 0.2 ng/mg Codeine: 0.2 ng/mg 6-acetylmorphine (heroin metabolite): 0.ii ng/mg Methadone: 0.two ng/mg EDDP (methadone metabolite): 0.05 ng/mg Buprenorphine: 0.01 ng/mg Norbuprenorphine: 0.01 ng/mg |
Are test results authentic?
Although hair follicle testing is an accustomed class of drug testing, the results of this test can exist affected by a variety of factors, including environmental exposures, pilus limerick, use of hair products, and even pilus color. Additionally, some drugs attach to the hair more easily, like nicotine and heroin, while other drugs are more hard to notice in pilus. Factors that affect test results include:
- Ecology exposures: Inaccurate results can also occur due to ecology exposure to drugs. For example, during exposure to secondhand smoke from cocaine or tobacco some of the smoke or vapor tin enter the hair and lead to a positive test result. Washing hair samples prior to testing may non remove all of the drug residue from an environmental exposure.
- Hair color: Hair color tin likewise lead to inaccurate or biased results of hair follicle drug testing. Drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids may bind more hands to melanin in nighttime hair, leading to college concentrations in hair testing.
- Hair treatments: Pilus treatments, including shampooing, coloring, relaxing, and bleaching the pilus, can bear upon the concentration of drugs and drug metabolites detected during testing. Chemically treated pilus may not be advisable for testing, and untreated hair may demand to be taken from another part of the body.
Other concerns about the accuracy of hair follicle drug tests include:
- Lack of standard cutoff values: Although some organizations have proposed guidelines for the utilize of hair follicle drug testing, standard cutoff values for the concentration of drugs in pilus samples is still existence established.
- Challenging to interpret: Hair follicle drug testing may be more than challenging to interpret than other types of drug tests due to the many factors that may affect the estimation of examination results. For instance, drug metabolites in a person'due south sweat can travel up the pilus shaft and may make it more than challenging to determine when drug exposure occurred.
- Hard to detect low-level use: It can be difficult to detect depression-level or one-time drug use or misuse using a hair sample for drug testing. Use or misuse of some drugs must be relatively heavy in order for a positive outcome on hair follicle drug testing.
Do I need follow-up tests?
Follow-up testing after a hair follicle drug test depends on the test results and the purpose of drug testing. If only an initial examination was performed, a confirmatory test may be ordered to confirm preliminary results.
If a drug exam result is positive, a wellness care provider may ask questions to evaluate the patient for a substance employ disorder or habit. The health intendance provider may ask about the bear on of drug use or misuse on a person's wellness and social obligations, any history of attempting to reduce or end taking drugs, besides as whether the patient uses drugs in dangerous situations. Regardless of whether a patient meets the criteria to be diagnosed with a substance utilize disorder, handling is available for drug use and misuse.
Questions for your medico about exam results
Drug examination results tin exist difficult to interpret and patients can ask their md or the testing facility about the meaning of test results. Questions nigh exam results include:
- Why am I beingness tested for drug use or misuse?
- What is the detection window of this test?
- What is the test result?
- Who will accept access to my test event or medical record?
- Will I be retested in the time to come?
Sources
A.D.A.Yard. Medical Encyclopedia. Metabolite. Updated February 7, 2019. Accessed July half dozen, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002258.htm
ARUP Consult. Drug testing. Updated May 2021. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://arupconsult.com/content/pain-and-addiction-direction
Boumba VA, Ziavrou KS, Vougiouklakis T. Hair as a biological indicator of drug use, drug abuse or chronic exposure to environmental toxicants. Int J Toxicol. 2006;25(3):143-163. doi:10.1080/10915810600683028
Cooper GA, Kronstrand R, Kintz P; Social club of Pilus Testing. Lodge of Pilus Testing guidelines for drug testing in pilus. Forensic Sci Int. 2012;218(1-3):20-24. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.10.024
Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association. Workplace drug testing. Date unknown. Accessed July 6, 2021. http://www.datia.org/datia-resources/27-cr%20edentialing/cpc-and-cpct/931-workplace-dru%20g-testing.html
Gorelick DA. Cocaine employ disorder in adults: Epidemiology, pharmacology, clinical manifestations, medical consequences, and diagnosis. In: Saxon AJ, ed. UpToDate. Updated August one, 2017. Accessed July six, 2021. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/cocaine-use-disorder-in-adults-epidemiology-pharmacology-clinical-manifestations-medical-consequences-and-diagnosis
Gorelick DA. Cannabis apply and disorder in adults: Pathogenesis, pharmacology, and routes of administration. In: Saxon AJ, ed. UpToDate. Updated December 28, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/cannabis-use-and-disorder-in-adults-pathogenesis-pharmacology-and-routes-of-administration
Gryczynski J, Schwartz RP, Mitchell SG, O'Grady KE, Ondersma SJ. Hair drug testing results and self-reported drug use amid primary care patients with moderate-take a chance illicit drug utilise. Drug Booze Depend. 2014;141:44-50. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.05.001
Hadland SE, Levy S. Objective Testing: Urine and Other Drug Tests. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2016;25(three):549-565. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2016.02.005
Hoffman RJ. Testing for drugs of abuse (DOA). In: Traub SJ, ed. UpToDate. Updated Jan fifteen, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/testing-for-drugs-of-abuse-doa
Huestis MA, Gustafson RA, Moolchan ET, et al. Cannabinoid concentrations in pilus from documented cannabis users. Forensic Sci Int. 2007;169(2-iii):129-136. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.08.005
Khan GF. Substance Use Disorders. Merck Manuals Professional Edition. Updated November 2020. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://world wide web.merckmanuals.com/professional person/psychiatric-disorders/substance-related-disorders/substance-use-disorders
Levy S, Siqueira LM; Committee on Substance Abuse, et al. Testing for drugs of abuse in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2014;133(6):e1798-e1807. doi:ten.1542/peds.2014-0865
McNeil SE, Cogburn M. Drug testing. In: StatPearls. Updated March 16, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459334/
MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine. Drug apply and addiction. Updated Dec 28, 2016. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/druguseandaddiction.html
MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine. Prescription drug misuse. Updated December 28, 2016. Accessed July six, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/prescriptiondrugmisuse.html
MedlinePlus: National Library of Medicine. Drug testing. Updated May xx, 2021. Accessed July vi, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/drug-testing/
National Found on Drug Abuse. How do drugs become into a person's hair? Published April 2, 2018. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://athenaeum.drugabuse.gov/web log/mail service/how-do-drugs-get-persons-hair
National Institute on Drug Corruption. Understanding drug employ and addiction. Published June 2018. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-employ-addiction
National Establish on Drug Abuse. Words affair: Preferred language for talking well-nigh habit. Published May 18, 2021. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/habit-science/words-matter-preferred-linguistic communication-talking-about-addiction
O'Malley GF, O'Malley R. Drug testing. Merck Manuals Professional Edition. Updated May 2020. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/special-subjects/recreational-drugs-and-intoxicants/drug-testing
Order of Hair Testing. Nigh SoHT. Updated June 8, 2021. Accessed July half-dozen, 2021. https://www.soht.org/about-soht/goals-of-the-society
Substance Corruption and Mental Wellness Services Assistants. State and local laws and regulations. Updated April xvi, 2020. Accessed July half dozen, 2021. https://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/legal/land-laws
Substance Corruption and Mental Wellness Services Assistants. Considerations for prophylactic- and security-sensitive Industries. Updated June 24, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://world wide web.samhsa.gov/workplace/legal/federal-laws/safe-security-sensitive
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Drug testing. Updated Apr 3, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.samhsa.gov/workplace/resources/drug-testing
US Department of Health and Human Services. Hair sample testing: What can pilus sampling results tell me about environmental exposures? Published April 2003. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://world wide web.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/hair_analysis/03-0330HairSampleTesting-Community.pdf
United states of america Department of Health and Human Services. Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs. Published September 10, 2020. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://world wide web.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-09-10/pdf/2020-16432.pdf
US Food and Drug Administration. Drugs of abuse home utilize tests. Updated September 27, 2018. Accessed July 6, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/drugs-abuse-tests/drugs-abuse-home-utilise-test
Ask a Laboratory Scientist
Source: https://www.testing.com/tests/hair-follicle-drug-test/#:~:text=The%20results%20of%20hair%20follicle,detected%20in%20the%20hair%20sample.
Enregistrer un commentaire for "Hair Drug Test Results How to Read"