An Introduction to Testing for Drugs of Abuse
An Introduction to Testing for Drugs of Abuse presents a distilled set of facts about the major drugs of abuse that are encountered in clinical practice. Individual chapters highlight the similarities in chemical structure, mechanism of action, and physiologic effects of each drug group, as well as their metabolism, therapeutic uses and potential for misuse or abuse. Special attention is given to the testing process, with an emphasis on interpretation of test results.
Informative and entertaining cases appear at the end of each chapter. These cases illustrate the many situations in which drug testing is performed for medical, legal and employment purposes.
Written in clear, concise language, this book provides practical guidance to pathologists, clinical chemists and technologists who are responsible for reporting and interpreting the results of drug analyses. It will be especially useful to residents and students who are learning about toxicology for the first time. Clinical practitioners - doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals - will find the information they need to order and interpret drug tests accurately.
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Section I Substance Use, Drug Metabolism, and the Testing Process 1
1 Introduction 3
2 How the Body Handles Drugs 13
3 Specimen Collection 19
4 Screening Tests: Immunoassays 27
5 Confirmation Tests: Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry 37
Section II Individual Drugs 47
6 Cocaine 49
7 Amphetamines 59
8 Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs 77
9 Other Sedative-Hypnotic Drugs 93
10 Opioids 105
11 Cannabinoids 125
12 Hallucinogens 137
13 Alcohols 151
Section III Appendices 177
Appendix A How to Read a Toxicology Report 179
Appendix B Guideline Documents: Pain Management and Addiction Medicine 183
Index 185
