Scientific Issues in Drug Testing
- Council on Scientific Affairs
Abstract
Testing for drugs in biologic fluids, especially urine, is a practice that has become widespread. The technology of testing for drugs in urine has greatly improved in recent years. Inexpensive screening techniques are not sufficiently accurate for forensic testing standards, which must be met when a person's employment or reputation may be affected by results. This is particularly a concern during screening of a population in which the prevalence of drug use is very low, in which the predictive value of a positive result would be quite low. Physicians should be aware that results from drug testing can yield accurate evidence of prior exposure to drugs, but they do not provide information about patterns of drug use, about abuse of or dependence on drugs, or about mental or physical impairments that may result from drug use.
(JAMA 1987;257:3110-3114)
Footnotes
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Report J of the Council on Scientific Affairs, adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association, as amended in lieu of Resolutions 84 and 106, at the 1986 Interim Meeting.
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This report is not intended to be construed or to serve as a standard of medical care. Standards of medical care are determined on the basis of all of the facts and circumstances involved in an individual case and are subject to change as scientific knowledge and technology advance and patterns of practice evolve. This report reflects the views of the scientific literature as of December 1986.
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Reprint requests to Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610 (William R. Hendee, PhD).
