FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What does the Multi-Drug of Abuse Urine Test do?

The Multi-Drug of Abuse Urine Test is a drug screen test. It provides preliminary results for the detection of one or more of the drugs at specified cut-off levels:

2. What is “cut-off level”?

The cut-off level is the concentration of drug in urine above which a result is considered a preliminary positive, and below which it is considered negative.

3. What are drugs of abuse?

Drug abuse is the use of a drug for a nontherapeutic effect. Some of the most commonly abused drugs are alcohol; nicotine; marijuana; amphetamines; barbiturates; cocaine; opium alkaloids; synthetic opioids; benzodiazepines, phencyclidine; ketamine; and anabolic steroids. Drug abuse may lead to organ damage, addiction, and disturbed patterns of behavior. Use of these drugs often incurs criminal penalty in addition to the potential for physical, social, and psychologic harm.

4. Common Street Names for the Drugs to be detected by this device

5. How long can drugs are detected in urine?

The following are guidelines only. The times can vary significantly from these estimates depending on how long the person has been taking the drug, amount of drug they use, or the person’s metabolism.

6. How accurate is the test?

This test provides a preliminary result. If you get a preliminary positive result, you should send the urine sample to a laboratory for a confirmatory testing.

It is very important to send the preliminary positive urine sample to a confirmatory lab. It happens occasionally that drug of abuse urine screening may be interpreted and give positive results by certain foods, food supplements, beverages, diet pills, or over-the-counter medicines. Laboratories can confirm the results.

Other factors may affect the results, including but not limited to:

• The way the test was performed

• The way the test and sample were stored

• What the person ate or drank before collecting the sample.

• Some prescription or over-the-counter drugs taken before collecting the urine sample.

7. If the test results are negative, can I be sure that the person tested did not take drugs?

No. Several factors can make the test results negative even though a person did take the drugs.

• The wrong drug was tested for.

• The positive time frame might be missed when it contained drug. It takes time for drugs to appear in the urine after taken, and they do not stay in
  the urine indefinitely. The individual might be tested the urine too soon or too late after taking the drugs.

• The person knowingly added something to the urine to prevent it from reacting with the test.

• The device went bad because they were stored incorrectly or past their expiration date.

When a negative result was obtained but drug abuse was still suspected, repeat the test at a later time or consider testing different drugs. Consult a doctor if you need help in what steps to take next.

8. What is a false positive result?

A false positive result is a test result that reads positive when the drug or drug metabolite is not present or its concentration is less than the detectable (cut off) level.

9. What is a preliminary positive result?

The Multi-Drug of Abuse Urine Test is a drug screen test. When it provides a positive result, a follow up laboratory testing is requested.

10. Does a preliminary positive screen test mean that you have found drugs of abuse?

No. Wait for the confirmatory laboratory report. There are some factors may cause a false positive result. It is important to send any sample giving positive results to a laboratory to confirm.

11. What if the lab test confirms a positive result?

• If you received a positive result and you do not believe the test, consult your doctor. They have your medical history and they can provide you with detailed information.

• If a positive result was confirmed, consult you doctor to identify counselors who will help you. You can also contact one of the resources listed in item 12 for help.

12. Additional Resources