Drug use, self report and urinalysis.
Stimulated by the ever present demand to consider the financial implications in management decisions, this study examines the use of urinalysis and self-report in the treatment of drug users, to question if urinalysis, rather than being a routine investigation, could be used with greater discrimination without jeopardising its effectiveness. It concludes that urinalysis remains of importance, as an adjunct to self-report, in providing information and in the treatment of drug users. Suggestions are made as to how it might be used more selectively in treatment based on a clinical knowledge of individual patients and their progress in treatment. However further research is needed to support and define this more clearly.
Kilpatrick
B
B
Department of Addictive Behaviour, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.
Howlett
M
M
Sedgwick
P
P
Ghodse
A H
AH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002845:Chromatography; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000652:urine; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D013287:Illicit Drugs