Understanding Urinalysis

Understanding more about drug screens is could be a pretty involved process. If you are being tested or having someone go through a screening process, the following information you will helpful.A chain of custody is required by the laboratory which will perform the actual testing. This means that the sample is required to be monitored during all aspects of the collection and testing. This necessitates a witness be present to observe the client providing the specimen and to ensure the sample is unaltered. Once the sample is collected, the witness must make sure the sample is sealed properly in the presence of the client and placed in a locked and refrigerated location until the laboratory courier is able to pick it up. At the lab, the specimen is handled with a strict chain of custody code requiring each individual who comes in contact with the specimen to sign for it. This safeguards against any tampering or alteration of the specimen. Courts and places of employment require proper chain of custody protocols to ensure reliable results that will hold up under court scrutiny.
Original specimens are tested with Emit testing. This is a less expensive testing procedure. The accuracy rate for Emit is approximately 95%. Each sample that initially tests positive is retested and sent through a more expensive and elaborate test (GCMS) that is able to detect specific amounts of the drug. GCMS has been gaged around 99% accuracy. The higher the number of nanograms per milliliter detected in the urine, the higher the concentration of the drug there is in the urine sample.

A negative result simply means that no substance was present in the sample in sufficient quantity to be detected by the test. It does not mean that the individual has not used illegal substances. The more testing that is performed, the more sure one can be that a negative result means the individual is currently not using illegal substances. A positive result does mean that the individual has used that particular substance. A positive result does not necessarily mean that the individual was intoxicated at the time the sample was collected as there is no established relationship between amount of a drug in urine and level of intoxication. High positive or low positive readings could be interpreted several different ways. A high reading could mean that the individual used drugs or alcohol in large quantity or shortly before the sample was collected. There are some drugs that stay in the body longer, however, and may be detected by testing several days or weeks following their use. Concentration of substances in urine may also vary widely because of an individual’s genetic makeup. Each of these factors influences low positive readings also. Clearly then, the amount of a substance detected in a sample can not be interpreted precisely. A more accurate gauge would be tests given on a regular basis which are better able to determine the extent of drug and alcohol use and patterns. Urinalysis should not be used as the sole criteria for determining substance use. It should be used as another tool in evaluating someone’s drug and alcohol use.

The following names of substances will appear on the written results of the test.

Amphetamines

Barbiturates

Benzodiazepines

Cocaine

Methadone

Methaqualone

Opiates

Phencyclidine

Propoxyphene

Cannabinoids: Marijuana, Hashish