title: Selection of an appropriate initial test cutoff concentration for workplace drug urinalysis--Cannabis example.
abstract: Apparent analyte concentration (equivalent of 11-nor-delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid [9-THC-COOH]) obtained by radioimmunoassay (RIA) for cannabinoids using reagents manufactured at four different periods (from the same manufacturer) and specific 9-THC-COOH concentration as determined by GC/MS are examined for the significance of their correlation. The resulting regression equations are then used to estimate the apparent RIA analyte concentrations of reagents manufactured at different time periods that are equivalent to a specific 9-THC-COOH concentration. Correlation coefficients of the regression analysis improve from approximately 0.4 to 0.7 in parallel with the increasing reagent specificity. The apparent RIA analyte concentrations that correspond to 15 ng/mL 9-THC-COOH decrease from about 110 to 50 ng/mL again in parallel with the increasing reagent specificity. These findings empirically demonstrate that reagent specificity is the determining factor of the resulting apparent RIA analyte concentration when testing samples that contain 9-THC-COOH and other metabolites (derived from marijuana exposure). Thus, if the 9-THC-COOH concentration as determined by GC/MS is of primary concern, the initial test cutoff concentration should be adjusted in accordance with the specificity of the reagent used.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Forensic Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Baugh
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fyfe
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Walia
mesh_terms: D013759:Dronabinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000592:standards*; D017132:Workplace
chemical_list: D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; C016780:11-nor-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid; D013759:Dronabinol