We are making the best web tool available in the Screening industry. Help us by completing our five minute survey. Check out our site and complete our survey.

Proudly

made in the USA

Visit my blog and comment on this newsletter

This month's special

$6.95

+++

An extra 10% off

CALL NOW

Well it sure is getting cold outside and of course, we all know what that means.... headaches, fever, coughing, stuffy noses and all those wild and wonderful aches and pains. My Grandma used to give me a piping hot glass of lemon and honey and It always seemed to make me feel better. These days, of course, we have a myriad of options when it comes to over the counter (OTC) or now behind the counter medications to relieve our symptoms. But what's in them and how will it affect my drug testing program? Great questions and it's exactly what I'm going to tackle for you this month. Read on because one of you is going to win a brand new ipod nano to get you through the long cold winter.

Codeine, hydrocodone, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylephrine may all be used to treat symptoms of cold and flu. It has long been said that products containing these drugs may result in positives when using on-site drug testing products. Is it so?

Codeine

Codeine is used as a cough suppressant and to relieve moderate to severe pain. Codeine enters the body and when it metabolizes it changes to morphine.The use of codeine may result in a positive result on the OPI panel. This is more likely if you test for OPI at a cutoff of 300ng rather than the more common 2000ng.

Hydrocodone

Hydrocodone is commonly used to treat pain. It is also approved in a few medications as a cough suppressant. On the other side of the coin, Hydrocodone is a very popular drug of abuse, giving the user an increased sense of euphoria. When abused, Hydrocodone can lead to serious illness or injury and is extremely addictive. Hydrocodone may result in a positive result on the OPI panel.

Pseudoephedrine

Pseudoephedrine is commonly used as a decongestant. A lot of people in the USA refer to it as Sudafed, which is actually a brand name owned by Pfizer. Sudafed also comes in a pseudoephedrine free OTC marketed as Sudafed PE.

Ephedrine

Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine similar in structure to the synthetic derivatives amphetamine and methamphetamine. Ephedrine is commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, decongestant and to treat hypertension associated with regional anesthesia.

Sympathomimetics will probably not trigger MET/AMP strips in your on-site screening test like the DrugCheck cup but in higher doses it may. It is a common misconception that these OTC drugs will cause false positives. This highlights the importance of confirming your on-site positives with a GC/MS testing process. With the two-tiered testing process and the definitive identification and quantification with GC/MS confirmation, the use of these OTC drugs will not result in a confirmed positive drug test.

Be sure to inform the donor to keep records of any drugs they have taken. This includes OTC and prescription drugs. This will assist them when they are contacted by the MRO who will make the final determination.


DTS Screening Services is here to help its clients in any way we can. We have experts in the field of alcohol and other drugs and we are always happy to answer your questions. If you have a question or any feedback, please call or email me and I'll be happy to assist you. 

Sincerely,

Mark Cotter
DTS Screening Services