Determination of Patient Adherence for Duloxetine in Urine.

Duloxetine, known by its brand name, CymbaltaTM, is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor used to treat major depressive disorders. Determination of patient compliance for duloxetine is typically determined through medication possession ratio (MPR) or plasma concentrations. The purpose of this paper was to characterize normal urinary duloxetine concentrations in patients prescribed duloxetine to monitor patient adherence.

Patterns of Marijuana Use in a 6-Month Pain Management Sample in the United States.

This study is a 6-month retrospective analysis of urine drug testing (UDT) data from a pain management population among specimens with clinician-ordered marijuana testing (N = 194 809). Descriptive statistics about the specimen positivity of clinician-ordered marijuana UDT are provided as well as other drug positivity. Specimens from men and adults aged 18 to 34 years had the highest prevalence rates of marijuana positivity.

Improved Chiral Separation of Methamphetamine Enantiomers Using CSP-LC-MS-MS.

To determine the true enantiomeric composition of methamphetamine urine drug testing results, chiral separation of dextro (D) and levo (L) enantiomers is necessary. While enantiomeric separation of methamphetamine has traditionally been accomplished using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), chiral separation of D- and L-methamphetamine by chiral stationary phase (CSP) liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) has proved more reliable. Chirally selective detection of methamphetamine by GC-MS is often performed using L-N-trifluoroacetyl-prolyl chloride (TPC).