Comparison of patterns of drug levels in head and body hair for medico-legal and workplace testing.

This paper presents concentration ranges and positivity rates for the common drugs, alcohol markers, new psychoactive substances (NPS) and anabolic steroids tested in head hair (n = 138,352) and body hair (n = 9532) on samples of hair from medico-legal (n = 112,033) and workplace (n = 35,851) sectors tested in our laboratory. Statistically significant higher levels were found more often in the various types of body hair when compared with head hair, but fewer cases exhibited lower levels. For example, statistically significant higher levels were detected in leg hair for cannabinol, THC, methadone and EtG and in beard hair for THC, THC-COOH and 6-acetylmorphine.

Testing venous carbohydrate-deficient transferrin or capillary phosphatidylethanol with concurrent ethyl glucuronide and ethyl palmitate hair tests to assess historical and recent alcohol use.

Hair biomarkers, ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl palmitate (EtPa), together with blood biomarker tests, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) or phosphatidylethanol (PEth), are commonly used in identifying patterns of alcohol consumption as they possess different windows of detection. The detection of EtG in hair samples is mainly used in combination with EtPa when hair cosmetic treatments such as hair colouring and bleaching affect EtG levels. The main purpose of our study was to investigate the differences in frequency distribution of positive CDT and PEth results indicating alcohol had been used, when EtG and EtPa were not detected, where evidence of abstinence is paramount.

The Effect of Prolonged Storage Time on the Stability of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in Hair Samples.

The advantages of analysis of drugs in hair samples are recognized for the long window of detection, alongside easy sampling and long stability after sample collection. Alcohol markers, ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and total fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) in hair, are widely used for monitoring alcohol consumption for clinical and forensic purposes. Although stability of drugs and EtG in hair samples is documented to a certain extent, stability of FAEEs in hair samples after collection has not been reported.

Adulterants in crack cocaine in Brazil.

Introduction: Brazil is the world's biggest consumer of crack cocaine, and dependence is a major public health issue. This is the first study to investigate the prevalence of potentially harmful adulterants present in hair samples from Brazilian patients with crack cocaine dependence.

Method: We evaluated adulterants in hair samples extracted by convenience from 100 patients admitted at the 48 hour-observation unit of Centro de Referência de Álcool, Tabaco e Outras Drogas (CRATOD), Brazil's largest center for addiction treatment.

Ethyl Glucuronide as a Long-term Alcohol Biomarker in Fingernail and Hair. Matrix Comparison and Evaluation of Gender Bias.

Aims: This work aimed to assess the performance of hair and fingernail ethyl glucuronide (EtG) measurement for use as a biomarker of alcohol consumption in persons with known drinking history across a range of drinking behaviours.

Methods: EtG concentrations were assessed from the hair and fingernails of 50 study participants. Alcohol consumption of the previous 90 days was assessed by participant interview using the alcohol timeline follow-back method.