Different tests can detect opiates, including urine, hair follicle, blood, sweat patch, and saliva tests. The choice of test depends on the reason for detecting the drug and the specific opioid substance. Urine tests are the most common and least expensive, but hair follicle tests are more sensitive and can determine when and for how long an opioid drug has been used. Blood tests are the most intrusive and expensive but can detect specific levels of the opioid substance in the bloodstream.
Opiates can be tested in several ways. Procedures include urine, hair follicle and blood tests. Research shows that opiates can also be detected with the newer sweat patch and saliva opiate tests. Which test is appropriate depends on the reason for detecting the drug and the specific opioid substance that needs to be identified. Some tests are cost-prohibitive and significantly invasive, two factors sometimes also considered when making a test choice.
A urine test is by far the most commonly used and least expensive test for determining opioid use. It is a screening test, which means that it only tests for the presence of opiates and not specific levels of drugs or drug metabolites within the body. Urine opioid tests can, however, distinguish between various types of opioid drugs, making them ideal for detecting illicit drug use. Disadvantages that might lead to choosing other testing methods over urine screening include detection that is only possible primarily within a week of use and the danger of false positives caused by naturally occurring opioid substances in the environment. A urine test is also considered significantly invasive because a physician usually needs to be present to collect the urine.
A hair follicle opioid test is significantly more expensive, sometimes as much as $150 US dollars (USD) for a test, but the procedure has some distinct advantages. The test is twice as sensitive as a urine test, and this form of assessment is unaffected by the short periods of abstinence that illicit drug users may have to pass a scheduled screening. Like a urine test, it can distinguish between opiates, but it only monitors opioid use and cannot determine specific amounts of the drug ingested. Opiate tests of the hair follicle are considered reliable because opiate metabolites sit very tightly on the hair shaft and do not migrate like the metabolites of other drugs. They can also be used to generally determine when and for how long an opioid drug has been used.
Blood opioid testing is the most intrusive form of testing and is usually the most expensive. This test can detect specific levels of the opioid substance in the bloodstream, making it ideal for clinicians treating an overdose or monitoring a specific drug regimen. However, the residence time of an opiate substance in the bloodstream is short, and this limits its effectiveness in determining its illicit use.
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