[Role of laboratories in the clinical study of drug dependence].
Clinical toxicological laboratory is involved in two different topics related to drug addiction: tests devoted to diagnosis and treatment of addicted and analyses for administrative and forensic purposes. A laboratory which analyses drugs of abuse has to guarantee reliability and performance of its services working with a quality system. It can be possible to differentiate between laboratories which perform only screening tests with immunological methods and laboratories which execute confirmations with a forensic meaning using chromatographic techniques. The primary biological matrix for this kind of tests is urine, although in some specific cases hair analysis can be a support of traditional investigations. Internet sites on specific topics can be of assistance for questions of different nature to be faced by a clinical toxicological laboratory.
Pacifici
R
R
Laboratorio di Biochimica Clinica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma.
Lopez
A
A
Pellegrini
M
M
Zuccaro
P
P
D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000458:organization & administration; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*