Prescription opioid abuse is currently considered to be an epidemic that poses a serious threat to public health, and as part of an ongoing drive to reduce opioid addiction, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prescribing guidelines for opioids require annual testing of patients prescribed opioid drugs to check for signs of abuse or diversion. CLS Diagnostics in Franklin, Massachusetts, provides prompt and accurate urine toxicology analysis for medical professionals, ensuring you have an accurate assessment of your patient’s health. Call the lab or book an appointment online today for more information.
There are several key reasons why you might need to order opioid tests. There’s a rising tide of addiction to prescription opioids, so testing is an important element in monitoring patients with opioid prescriptions. Testing also aids in determining a patient’s adherence to a drug rehab program, as well as establishing the presence of illegal opioids in the first place.
Opioids and opiates are often referred to as though they are the same drug, but in fact, opiates are derived from natural sources, whereas synthetic and semi-synthetic opioids are created in a laboratory.
Opiates from natural sources include codeine, morphine, and heroin. Semi-synthetic opioids include hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone, while fully synthetic opioids include fentanyl, meperidine, methadone, propoxyphene, tramadol, and tapentadol. There are also antagonists and agonists such as buprenorphine, naloxone, and naltrexone.
Any of these drugs may be subject to recreational abuse, causing a variety of health problems during use and withdrawal, including:
Injecting opioids into a vein can also lead to users contracting HIV or hepatitis, as well as the vein collapsing.
CLS Diagnostics carries out opioid tests using urine analysis. Although influenced by the effect of an individual’s metabolism and the specific opioid drug they’ve taken, testing can usually detect opioid drugs in a urine sample if the subject used the drug within the last one to three days.
The lab also tests samples for adulterants or dilutants added to disguise the presence of opioids in urine. Any evidence of tampering results in an invalid test.
Results are returned as negative if the level of opioids found in the sample is below the predetermined cutoff level, and positive if the opioid levels are above the cutoff. A positive screening result requires confirmation using mass spectrometry tests, which are more sensitive and detect lower levels of specific opioids. You receive a detailed analysis of the lab’s findings after the test so you have a clear picture of all the results.
For high-quality service and prompt turnaround, call CLS Diagnostics or book an appointment online today.
