Citation

Lillsunde PM. J. Traffic Med. 1997; 25(3-4): 103-108.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Toxicological analysis is an essential part of obtaining evidence for the actual presence of drugs in body fluids during driving, although the police use different tests when looking for drunken drivers. Many drugs hazardous for traffic safety have been detected by screening, although this procedure is focused on psycho-active drugs. Screening tests are used in the laboratory to separate negative and positive specimens. Screening can also be used to identify as many intoxicants as possible in one analysis. In cases that can lead to judicial consequences, the principle has been used that all presumptive positives from an initial screening test should be confirmed by a second, more specific analysis of the original specimen, using different chemical methods. In principle, a very specific technique must be used for confirmation, to ensure that false positive results do not occur at the selected cut-off levels. A 'cut-off' is a concentration above which a result is labelled as negative. This paper gives details of procedures for testing specimens of blood, urine, saliva, hair, and sweat for the possible presence of drugs.