Over the past decade, the use of hair specimens for the long-term detection of the alcohol biomarker ethyl glucuronide has been increasing in popularity and usage. We evaluated the usefulness of fingernail clippings a...Over the past decade, the use of hair specimens for the long-term detection of the alcohol biomarker ethyl glucuronide has been increasing in popularity and usage. We evaluated the usefulness of fingernail clippings as a suitable alterna-tive to hair for ethyl glucuronide detection. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of ethyl glucuronide in fingernail clippings was fully validated and used to analyze the hair and/or fingernail specimens of 606 college-aged study participants. The limit of detection was 2 pg/mg, the limit of quantitation was 8 pg/mg and the method was linear from 8 to 2000 pg/mg. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision studies at three different concentrations (20, 40, 200 pg/mg) were all within 7.8% and all intra- and inter-assay bias studies at these levels were within 115.1% of target concentration. Ethyl glucuronide levels in fingernail (mean = 29.1 ± 55.6 pg/mg) were higher than ethyl glucuronide levels in hair (mean = 9.48 ± 22.3 pg/mg) and a correlation of the matched pairs was observed (r = 0.552, P < 0.01, n = 529). Evaluating each gender separately revealed that the correlation of male fingernail to male hair was large and significant (r = 0.782, P < 0.01, n = 195) while female hair to female fingernail was small yet sig-nificant (r = 0.249, P < 0.01, n = 334). The study results demonstrated that fingernail may be a suitable alternative to hair for ethyl glucuronide detection and may be the preferred sample type due to the lack of a gender bias.展开更多
In utero exposure to ethanol continues to be a significant public health issue and neonatal healthcare professionals are in need of objective means to identify exposed newborns. The aim of this study was to fully vali...In utero exposure to ethanol continues to be a significant public health issue and neonatal healthcare professionals are in need of objective means to identify exposed newborns. The aim of this study was to fully validate two methods for the detection of two direct alcohol biomarkers, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanol (POPE) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG), in umbilical cord and apply the assays to a group of authentic specimens. The limits of detections were 2 and 1 ng/g for POPE and ETG and the limits of quantitation were 4 and 3 ng/g, respectively. Inter and intra-day precision and accuracy measurements were within 15%. The assays were applied to 308 authentic specimens where we detected POPE in five (1.6%) specimens and EtG in twelve (3.9%) specimens. The mean concentrations were 11.4 ng/g ± 9.4 ng/g and 127.2 ± 227.7 ng/g for POPE and EtG, respectively. This study suggested that umbilical cord was a suitable specimen type for the identification of newborns exposed to ethanol in the womb and the prevalence of POPE and EtG detected in umbilical cord were consistent with the prevalence of self-reported binge drinking reported by the National Birth Defect Prevention Study (NBDPS) and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Further studies are required to fully describe the association between the observed concentrations of POPE and EtG in umbilical cord to the level of maternal consumption of ethanol.展开更多
Marijuana use as well as abuse is a significant public health and public safety concern in the United States and using hair to identify marijuana users and abusers has been gaining acceptance in a number of venues inc...Marijuana use as well as abuse is a significant public health and public safety concern in the United States and using hair to identify marijuana users and abusers has been gaining acceptance in a number of venues including workplace, court ordered, and substance abuse treatment monitoring. After the presentation of a fully validated 2-dimensional gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA), the chief metabolite of the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), we evaluated the usefulness of fingernail clippings as an alternative specimen type to hair by the analysis of a set of 60 matched pairs of head hair and fingernail clippings. The limit of detection was 10 fg/mg, the limit of quantitation was 20 fg/mg, and the assay was linear from 20 fg/mg to 500 fg/mg. The intra- and inter-assay imprecision and bias studies at 4 different concentrations (50, 100, 500, and 1000 fg/mg) were acceptable where all % Target observations were within 16% of their expected concentrations and all %CV calculations were less than 13.5%. THCA was detectable in more fingernail specimens (53.3%) than hair specimens (46.7%) and the mean concentrations in nails were on average 4.9 times higher than in hair (1813 fg/mg and 364 fg/mg, respectively). The THCA concentrations in hair and nail were strongly associated (r = 0.974, P < 0.01, n = 60) and the association was significant. The study demonstrated that fingernail clippings are a suitable alternative specimen type to hair to monitor for marijuana use and abuse.展开更多
Propofol is the most commonly used compound for the intravenous induction and maintenance of anesthesia. Propofol addiction and abuse have become causes for concern in the healthcare community, especially among anesth...Propofol is the most commonly used compound for the intravenous induction and maintenance of anesthesia. Propofol addiction and abuse have become causes for concern in the healthcare community, especially among anesthesia and surgical professionals. The US Drug Enforcement Administration does not list propofol on any Schedules and most hospitals do not have inventory controls in place to prevent its misuse. Propofol is detectable in blood plasma as the parent compound for as much as 15 hours post-anesthesia. The metabolite propofol glucuronide (PPFG) has been detected in blood and urine as far out as 60 hours. Here we report the long-term renal excretion of PPFG in specimens from A) four participants following a 14-day course of orally ingested propofol dosing, and B) a female patient following anesthetic induction and 15 minutes’ maintenance with propofol. Urinary PPFG was measurable well above limits of quantitation up to 6 days following oral ingestion and 28 days post-anesthesia. We also present a third set of data evaluating the likelihood of passive exposure to aerosolized propofol in the surgical environment by analyzing the levels of urinary PPFG of healthcare workers following operating room work shifts. The results presented here demonstrate that quantitation of PPFG in urinary samples is an efficient method of long-term screening for propofol misuse and abuse.展开更多
Objective: Kratom is widely available and literature exploring the effects of prenatal kratom exposure is lacking. This study aims to report a validated method for the detection of mitragynine in the umbilical cord an...Objective: Kratom is widely available and literature exploring the effects of prenatal kratom exposure is lacking. This study aims to report a validated method for the detection of mitragynine in the umbilical cord and report our observations for specimens received at a national commercial reference laboratory. Study Design: Assays were validated according to the recommendations of ANSI/ASB. A retrospective evaluation of records at a national reference laboratory was conducted to determine prevalence and co-exposure to other substances of abuse. Result: Mitragynine was detected in 19 of 4456 specimens (0.43%) with concentrations ranging from 4 to >50 ng/g. Thirteen (13) of these specimens were positive for only mitragynine while the other 6 were also positive for either marijuana or opiates. Conclusion: Umbilical cord is a suitable specimen type for the surveillance of maternal kratom use and can be used to identify exposed neonates for further investigations into short- or long- term health consequences.展开更多
文摘Over the past decade, the use of hair specimens for the long-term detection of the alcohol biomarker ethyl glucuronide has been increasing in popularity and usage. We evaluated the usefulness of fingernail clippings as a suitable alterna-tive to hair for ethyl glucuronide detection. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of ethyl glucuronide in fingernail clippings was fully validated and used to analyze the hair and/or fingernail specimens of 606 college-aged study participants. The limit of detection was 2 pg/mg, the limit of quantitation was 8 pg/mg and the method was linear from 8 to 2000 pg/mg. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision studies at three different concentrations (20, 40, 200 pg/mg) were all within 7.8% and all intra- and inter-assay bias studies at these levels were within 115.1% of target concentration. Ethyl glucuronide levels in fingernail (mean = 29.1 ± 55.6 pg/mg) were higher than ethyl glucuronide levels in hair (mean = 9.48 ± 22.3 pg/mg) and a correlation of the matched pairs was observed (r = 0.552, P < 0.01, n = 529). Evaluating each gender separately revealed that the correlation of male fingernail to male hair was large and significant (r = 0.782, P < 0.01, n = 195) while female hair to female fingernail was small yet sig-nificant (r = 0.249, P < 0.01, n = 334). The study results demonstrated that fingernail may be a suitable alternative to hair for ethyl glucuronide detection and may be the preferred sample type due to the lack of a gender bias.
文摘In utero exposure to ethanol continues to be a significant public health issue and neonatal healthcare professionals are in need of objective means to identify exposed newborns. The aim of this study was to fully validate two methods for the detection of two direct alcohol biomarkers, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanol (POPE) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG), in umbilical cord and apply the assays to a group of authentic specimens. The limits of detections were 2 and 1 ng/g for POPE and ETG and the limits of quantitation were 4 and 3 ng/g, respectively. Inter and intra-day precision and accuracy measurements were within 15%. The assays were applied to 308 authentic specimens where we detected POPE in five (1.6%) specimens and EtG in twelve (3.9%) specimens. The mean concentrations were 11.4 ng/g ± 9.4 ng/g and 127.2 ± 227.7 ng/g for POPE and EtG, respectively. This study suggested that umbilical cord was a suitable specimen type for the identification of newborns exposed to ethanol in the womb and the prevalence of POPE and EtG detected in umbilical cord were consistent with the prevalence of self-reported binge drinking reported by the National Birth Defect Prevention Study (NBDPS) and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Further studies are required to fully describe the association between the observed concentrations of POPE and EtG in umbilical cord to the level of maternal consumption of ethanol.
文摘Marijuana use as well as abuse is a significant public health and public safety concern in the United States and using hair to identify marijuana users and abusers has been gaining acceptance in a number of venues including workplace, court ordered, and substance abuse treatment monitoring. After the presentation of a fully validated 2-dimensional gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA), the chief metabolite of the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), we evaluated the usefulness of fingernail clippings as an alternative specimen type to hair by the analysis of a set of 60 matched pairs of head hair and fingernail clippings. The limit of detection was 10 fg/mg, the limit of quantitation was 20 fg/mg, and the assay was linear from 20 fg/mg to 500 fg/mg. The intra- and inter-assay imprecision and bias studies at 4 different concentrations (50, 100, 500, and 1000 fg/mg) were acceptable where all % Target observations were within 16% of their expected concentrations and all %CV calculations were less than 13.5%. THCA was detectable in more fingernail specimens (53.3%) than hair specimens (46.7%) and the mean concentrations in nails were on average 4.9 times higher than in hair (1813 fg/mg and 364 fg/mg, respectively). The THCA concentrations in hair and nail were strongly associated (r = 0.974, P < 0.01, n = 60) and the association was significant. The study demonstrated that fingernail clippings are a suitable alternative specimen type to hair to monitor for marijuana use and abuse.
文摘Propofol is the most commonly used compound for the intravenous induction and maintenance of anesthesia. Propofol addiction and abuse have become causes for concern in the healthcare community, especially among anesthesia and surgical professionals. The US Drug Enforcement Administration does not list propofol on any Schedules and most hospitals do not have inventory controls in place to prevent its misuse. Propofol is detectable in blood plasma as the parent compound for as much as 15 hours post-anesthesia. The metabolite propofol glucuronide (PPFG) has been detected in blood and urine as far out as 60 hours. Here we report the long-term renal excretion of PPFG in specimens from A) four participants following a 14-day course of orally ingested propofol dosing, and B) a female patient following anesthetic induction and 15 minutes’ maintenance with propofol. Urinary PPFG was measurable well above limits of quantitation up to 6 days following oral ingestion and 28 days post-anesthesia. We also present a third set of data evaluating the likelihood of passive exposure to aerosolized propofol in the surgical environment by analyzing the levels of urinary PPFG of healthcare workers following operating room work shifts. The results presented here demonstrate that quantitation of PPFG in urinary samples is an efficient method of long-term screening for propofol misuse and abuse.
文摘Objective: Kratom is widely available and literature exploring the effects of prenatal kratom exposure is lacking. This study aims to report a validated method for the detection of mitragynine in the umbilical cord and report our observations for specimens received at a national commercial reference laboratory. Study Design: Assays were validated according to the recommendations of ANSI/ASB. A retrospective evaluation of records at a national reference laboratory was conducted to determine prevalence and co-exposure to other substances of abuse. Result: Mitragynine was detected in 19 of 4456 specimens (0.43%) with concentrations ranging from 4 to >50 ng/g. Thirteen (13) of these specimens were positive for only mitragynine while the other 6 were also positive for either marijuana or opiates. Conclusion: Umbilical cord is a suitable specimen type for the surveillance of maternal kratom use and can be used to identify exposed neonates for further investigations into short- or long- term health consequences.
