Is Quest diagnostics reliable ?

According to there own website:

NIDA Five Panel:
Drug Group EIA Screen Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**) GC/MS Confirmation
Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**)
Amphetamines (amphetamine and methamphetamine) 1,000 500
Cocaine metabolite
300--------------------------------------------------150
Marijuana metabolites
50-----------------------------------------------------15
Opiates (codeine and morphine)
2,000----------------------------------------------2,000
Phencyclidine
25------------------------------------------------------25


My test results were these numbers, and confirmed by the MRO, but
Quest said I tested "POSITIVE" for "Pot", the MRO states that there
is other information the Quest uses to make this determination, the
MRO stated he does not have that info , then how could he comfirm ?

Mike

I used to sell drug screening 20 years ago for a regional reference lab
[not Quest at the time, but it is now part of Quest], but I am by no
means an expert in this field, as my specialty is microbiology. If
anyone familiar with tox testing can add or change my comments, please
feel free to chime in. Quest is one of the largest, if not the largest,
reference labs in the U.S.

I am confused by what you posted - it may be how the newsgroup client
interpreted your spacing, etc. What was your result in
nanograms/milliliter [ng/ml]? Did your employer/prospective employer
specify GCMS confirmation? I went to Quest's website and couldn't find
anything listed under a NIDA Five Panel, so that may be a panel
specifically ordered by an employer. If employers are paying for drug
testing, they are the ones who set up the screening policies with the
laboratory. GCMS confirmation costs extra but provides definitive
testing for each metabolite. Screenings can have interfering substances
(i.e. poppy seeds for one of them - can't remember which one now).

Anyway, there was, at the time, a lot of talk about whether you could
test positive for cannabinoids/marijuana by being in a room where it was
being smoked and not smoke it yourself. Some employers were ordering a
50 ng cutoff to cut out the possibility of passive inhalation. Some
employers were ordering a 20 ng cutoff, which was controversial as to
whether you could produce this amount by just being around pot smokers
or actually inhaling it. The problem with cannabinoids is that they are
fat soluble, so you cannot flush them from your system before drug
testing and, depending on your exposure, they can hang around for up to
30 days.

So, depending on cutoff, depending on exposure, you can test positive
for cannabinoids. If they are confirmed by GC/MS this is definitive. If
you haven't smoked yourself, think about where you've been in the last
month.

This website provides some further information:

* w w w .healthy . net /scr/Article.asp?Id=8085

After looking at this website, looks like Quest is screening at 50 and
the GC/MS cutoff is 15.

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology

"Mike" <mike_davis_dot@yahoo . com > wrote in message
news:1188484293.344511.206190@50g2000hsm.googlegroups . com ...
> According to there own website:
>
> NIDA Five Panel:
> Drug Group EIA Screen Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**) GC/MS Confirmation
> Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**)
> Amphetamines (amphetamine and methamphetamine) 1,000 500
> Cocaine metabolite
> 300--------------------------------------------------150
> Marijuana metabolites
> 50-----------------------------------------------------15
> Opiates (codeine and morphine)
> 2,000----------------------------------------------2,000
> Phencyclidine
> 25------------------------------------------------------25

I am also a micro specilist, however for the past several years I've
been my lab's quality and computer manager. As such I am involved with
setting the parameters for all our testing including the ones we send
to Quest. From the looks of your message I think that the newsgroup
messed up your lines. But Judy seems to have found the info and if I
look at this correctly you are just listing the different cutoff for
each test and each drug group.

The EIA Screening is just that - a screen test that is done to show a
positive or negative based on the cutoff. There are usually false
positives for some of these grooups like the poppy seeds Judy
mentioned. I think a cold medication with pseudoephedrine might kick
off a false positive too.

The GC/MS is the "gold standard" of drug detection. It is the absolute
chemical footprint for any drug and no false positives or false
negatives.

That being said, you did not give us the values for your tests, so we
can't comment on how your MRO is interpreting the results.

Quest Diagnostics laboratories is one of the largest clinical labs in
our country with a very good reputation. All clinical laboratories must
adhere to extensive regulations by CMS and be inspected by an
accrediting agency such as the College of American Pathology. If you
live in state or city that requires licensing of Clinical Laboratory
Scientists then you should be able to check to see if they are indeed
licensed.



On 2007-08-30 12:02:28 -0400, "JEDilworth"
<bactitech@nospamhortonsbay . com > said:

> I used to sell drug screening 20 years ago for a regional reference lab
> [not Quest at the time, but it is now part of Quest], but I am by no
> means an expert in this field, as my specialty is microbiology. If
> anyone familiar with tox testing can add or change my comments, please
> feel free to chime in. Quest is one of the largest, if not the largest,
> reference labs in the U.S.
>
> I am confused by what you posted - it may be how the newsgroup client
> interpreted your spacing, etc. What was your result in
> nanograms/milliliter [ng/ml]? Did your employer/prospective employer
> specify GCMS confirmation? I went to Quest's website and couldn't find
> anything listed under a NIDA Five Panel, so that may be a panel
> specifically ordered by an employer. If employers are paying for drug
> testing, they are the ones who set up the screening policies with the
> laboratory. GCMS confirmation costs extra but provides definitive
> testing for each metabolite. Screenings can have interfering substances
> (i.e. poppy seeds for one of them - can't remember which one now).
>
> Anyway, there was, at the time, a lot of talk about whether you could
> test positive for cannabinoids/marijuana by being in a room where it
> was being smoked and not smoke it yourself. Some employers were
> ordering a 50 ng cutoff to cut out the possibility of passive
> inhalation. Some employers were ordering a 20 ng cutoff, which was
> controversial as to whether you could produce this amount by just being
> around pot smokers or actually inhaling it. The problem with
> cannabinoids is that they are fat soluble, so you cannot flush them
> from your system before drug testing and, depending on your exposure,
> they can hang around for up to 30 days.
>
> So, depending on cutoff, depending on exposure, you can test positive
> for cannabinoids. If they are confirmed by GC/MS this is definitive. If
> you haven't smoked yourself, think about where you've been in the last
> month.
>
> This website provides some further information:
>
> * w w w .healthy . net /scr/Article.asp?Id=8085
>
> After looking at this website, looks like Quest is screening at 50 and
> the GC/MS cutoff is 15.
>
> Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
> Microbiology
>
> "Mike" <mike_davis_dot@yahoo . com > wrote in message
> news:1188484293.344511.206190@50g2000hsm.googlegroups . com ...
>> According to there own website:
>>
>> NIDA Five Panel:
>> Drug Group EIA Screen Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**) GC/MS Confirmation
>> Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**)
>> Amphetamines (amphetamine and methamphetamine) 1,000 500
>> Cocaine metabolite
>> 300--------------------------------------------------150
>> Marijuana metabolites
>> 50-----------------------------------------------------15
>> Opiates (codeine and morphine)
>> 2,000----------------------------------------------2,000
>> Phencyclidine
>> 25------------------------------------------------------25


--
John Gentile MS, M(ASCP)
Laboratory Information Mgr.
VA Medical Center
Providence, RI
yjgent@cox . net

On Aug 31, 12:00 am, John Gentile <yjg...@cox . net > wrote:
> I am also a micro specilist, however for the past several years I've
> been my lab's quality and computer manager. As such I am involved with
> setting the parameters for all our testing including the ones we send
> to Quest. From the looks of your message I think that the newsgroup
> messed up your lines. But Judy seems to have found the info and if I
> look at this correctly you are just listing the different cutoff for
> each test and each drug group.
>
> The EIA Screening is just that - a screen test that is done to show a
> positive or negative based on the cutoff. There are usually false
> positives for some of these grooups like the poppy seeds Judy
> mentioned. I think a cold medication with pseudoephedrine might kick
> off a false positive too.
>
> The GC/MS is the "gold standard" of drug detection. It is the absolute
> chemical footprint for any drug and no false positives or false
> negatives.
>
> That being said, you did not give us the values for your tests, so we
> can't comment on how your MRO is interpreting the results.
>
> Quest Diagnostics laboratories is one of the largest clinical labs in
> our country with a very good reputation. All clinical laboratories must
> adhere to extensive regulations by CMS and be inspected by an
> accrediting agency such as the College of American Pathology. If you
> live in state or city that requires licensing of Clinical Laboratory
> Scientists then you should be able to check to see if they are indeed
> licensed.
>
> On 2007-08-30 12:02:28 -0400, "JEDilworth"
> <bactit...@nospamhortonsbay . com > said:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I used to sell drug screening 20 years ago for a regional reference lab
> > [not Quest at the time, but it is now part of Quest], but I am by no
> > means an expert in this field, as my specialty is microbiology. If
> > anyone familiar with tox testing can add or change my comments, please
> > feel free to chime in. Quest is one of the largest, if not the largest,
> > reference labs in the U.S.
>
> > I am confused by what you posted - it may be how the newsgroup client
> > interpreted your spacing, etc. What was your result in
> > nanograms/milliliter [ng/ml]? Did your employer/prospective employer
> > specify GCMS confirmation? I went to Quest's website and couldn't find
> > anything listed under a NIDA Five Panel, so that may be a panel
> > specifically ordered by an employer. If employers are paying for drug
> > testing, they are the ones who set up the screening policies with the
> > laboratory. GCMS confirmation costs extra but provides definitive
> > testing for each metabolite. Screenings can have interfering substances
> > (i.e. poppy seeds for one of them - can't remember which one now).
>
> > Anyway, there was, at the time, a lot of talk about whether you could
> > test positive for cannabinoids/marijuana by being in a room where it
> > was being smoked and not smoke it yourself. Some employers were
> > ordering a 50 ng cutoff to cut out the possibility of passive
> > inhalation. Some employers were ordering a 20 ng cutoff, which was
> > controversial as to whether you could produce this amount by just being
> > around pot smokers or actually inhaling it. The problem with
> > cannabinoids is that they are fat soluble, so you cannot flush them
> > from your system before drug testing and, depending on your exposure,
> > they can hang around for up to 30 days.
>
> > So, depending on cutoff, depending on exposure, you can test positive
> > for cannabinoids. If they are confirmed by GC/MS this is definitive. If
> > you haven't smoked yourself, think about where you've been in the last
> > month.
>
> > This website provides some further information:
>
> > * w w w .healthy . net /scr/Article.asp?Id=8085
>
> > After looking at this website, looks like Quest is screening at 50 and
> > the GC/MS cutoff is 15.
>
> > Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
> > Microbiology
>
> > "Mike" <mike_davis_...@yahoo . com > wrote in message
> >news:1188484293.344511.206190@50g2000hsm.googlegroups . com ...
> >> According to there own website:
>
> >> NIDA Five Panel:
> >> Drug Group EIA Screen Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**) GC/MS Confirmation
> >> Cutoff Level* (ng/mL**)
> >> Amphetamines (amphetamine and methamphetamine) 1,000 500
> >> Cocaine metabolite
> >> 300--------------------------------------------------150
> >> Marijuana metabolites
> >> 50-----------------------------------------------------15
> >> Opiates (codeine and morphine)
> >> 2,000----------------------------------------------2,000
> >> Phencyclidine
> >> 25------------------------------------------------------25
>
> --
> John Gentile MS, M(ASCP)
> Laboratory Information Mgr.
> VA Medical Center
> Providence, RI
> yjg...@cox . net - Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I used to know a MRO and they don't have all the data from Quest, and
this guy said that if a company did not want to hire a person for some
reason, that the MRO could just state a "positive" and nobody was
questioned.


aac.florida