There are several scenarios where a urine drug test might become necessary. Employers and potential employers might conduct routine urine analysis test, the test might also be required by law enforcement or the doctor in the accident and emergency (A&E) in the event of a visit.
Whichever reasons that might have necessitated the test; the procedure is often the same.
There are several types of urinalysis test available and used by different Laboratories. While some provide in-depth analysis, others are disposable test kits that provide instantaneous results. Many times you can find a 5 panel drug test that can be done at home without having to run out to a lab. They might be a little less accurate than a full fledged test, but some companies only require basic drug tests.
We have covered the various types of urine drug test available below.
Types of urine drug tests
There are two types of urine drug screens.
- Immunoassay
- Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
Immunoassay is a simple, cost-effective method of urine analysis that provides instantaneous results. The test is the most common type of urine drug screening and measures how the drug interacts with the body’s immune system and its ability to form antigen-antibody complexes rather than the amount of drug in the urine sample.
The results are usually delivered instantly and expressed in terms of negative and positive screens rather than numeric values.
This type of test has its drawbacks – it sometimes gives false positives and it does not pick up on all opioids.
Note: A false positive occurs when the test results come back positive for drugs, but there has been no drug use. There is also something called a false negative. A false negative occurs when the test reports a negative result even if there is drug use.
Both test types are liable to report a false negative, but only the immunoassay test can report a false positive.
Oftentimes, when a false positive report is recorded against an individual on the immunoassay test, further test for confirmation is carried out. The follow-up test known as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is done for confirmation. This type of test uses the same procedure for getting a urine specimen as the immunoassay. GC/MS results are more expensive and take longer to give results, but they rarely produce false positives. The good news is this type of test can be passed using Urine Luck.
If you get a positive result for illegal drugs that you haven’t taken, you should make sure to get a GC/MS follow-up test immediately. You will also want to talk to the medical review officer (MRO). This is the physician in charge of interpreting and reporting the results of any drug testing done in their facility.
