Drug Test

A urine flow test is a quick, simple test that gives useful feedback about the health of the lower urinary tract. It is often used to see if there is blockage to normal urine outflow. Health conditions that can change normal urine flow include:

Urine Flow Test

A urine flow test calculates the speed of urine flow over time. It may be used to check how the bladder and sphincter are working.

The bladder is part of the urinary tract. It’s a hollow muscular organ that relaxes and expands to store urine. It then contracts and flattens to empty urine through the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body (urethra).

The sphincter muscle is a circular muscle. It closes tightly, like a rubber band, around the bladder opening. This helps keep urine from leaking.

For this test, you will urinate into a special funnel that is connected to a measuring device. The device calculates the amount of urine, rate of flow in seconds, and the length of time until all urine has been passed. This information helps evaluate how well the lower urinary tract is working. It also helps figure out if there is a blockage of normal urine outflow.

During normal urination, the initial urine stream starts slowly. But it speeds up until the bladder is nearly empty. The urine flow then slows again until the bladder is empty. In people with a urinary tract blockage, this pattern of flow is changed, and increases and decreases more slowly. The urine flow test graphs this information, taking into account your gender and age.

Why might I need urine flow test?

A urine flow test is a quick, simple test that gives useful feedback about the health of the lower urinary tract. It is often used to see if there is blockage to normal urine outflow. Health conditions that can change normal urine flow include:

• Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). This is enlargement of the prostate gland. It is not caused by cancer and often happens in men over age 50. The prostate wraps around the urethra. When it is enlarged, it can narrow the urethra and interfere with normal passage of urine from the bladder. If left untreated, the enlarged prostate can block the urethra completely.
• Cancer of the prostate or bladder
• Urinary blockage. A urinary tract blockage can happen for many reasons along any part of the urinary tract, from the kidneys to the urethra. It can lead to a urine backup. This can cause infection, scarring, or even kidney failure if untreated.
• Neurogenic bladder dysfunction. This is trouble with bladder function due to a nervous system problem, such as a spinal cord tumor or injury.
• Frequent urinary tract infections. These can cause scarring and damage in the urinary tract.

There may be other reasons for your healthcare provider to recommend a urine flow test.

What are the risks of a urine flow test?

A urine flow test is safe for most people. The test is often done in a private bathroom or procedure area.

There may be risks depending on your specific health condition. Be sure to discuss any concerns with your healthcare provider before the procedure.

Certain factors or conditions may interfere with the accuracy of a urine flow test. These factors include:

• Straining with urination
• Constipation
• Your bladder is not full of urine
• Body movement during urination
• Certain medicines that affect bladder and sphincter muscle tone

How do I get ready for a urine flow test?

• Your healthcare provider will explain the procedure and you can ask questions.
• Generally, no prior preparation, such as fasting (not eating or drinking) is needed.
• You may be told to drink about 4 glasses of water several hours before the test to be sure that your bladder is full. Don’t empty your bladder before arriving for the procedure.
• If you are pregnant or think you may be, tell your healthcare provider.
• Make sure your healthcare provider has a list of all medicines (prescription and over-the-counter), herbs, vitamins, and supplements that you are taking.

Based on your health condition, your healthcare provider may request other specific preparation.

What happens during a urine flow test?

A urine flow test may be done on an outpatient basis. This means you will go home the same day. Or it may be done as part of your hospital stay. Procedures may vary depending on your condition and your healthcare provider’s practices.

Generally, a urine flow test follows this process:

1. You will be taken into the procedure area and told how to use the urine flow test device, called a flowmeter.
2. When you are ready to urinate, you will press the flowmeter start button and count for 5 seconds before beginning urination.
3. You will start to urinate into the funnel device that is attached to a regular toilet or portable commode. The flowmeter will record information as you are urinating.
4. You should not push or strain as you urinate. You should stay as still as possible.
5. When you are done urinating, count for 5 seconds and press the flowmeter button again.
6. Don’t put any toilet paper into the funnel device.
7. The test will be done at this point. Depending on your condition, you may be asked to repeat the test over several days.

What happens after a urine flow test?

Generally, there is no special type of care after a urine flow test.

Your healthcare provider may give you other instructions after the procedure, depending on your situation.

Next steps

Before you agree to the test or the procedure make sure you know:

• The name of the test or procedure
• The reason you are having the test or procedure
• What results to expect and what they mean
• The risks and benefits of the test or procedure
• What the possible side effects or complications are
• When and where you are to have the test or procedure
• Who will do the test or procedure and what that person’s qualifications are
• What would happen if you did not have the test or procedure
• Any alternative tests or procedures to think about
• When and how will you get the results
• Who to call after the test or procedure if you have questions or problems
• How much will you have to pay for the test or procedure

Find a Treatment Center

Find Additional Treatment Centers at:

• Howard County Medical Center
• Sibley Memorial Hospital
• Suburban Hospital

Drug Test

A drug test involves testing a biological sample, such as urine or hair, for the presence of a legal or illegal drug. There are several possible uses for a drug test, the most common of which is for pre-employment screening. The most commonly tested drugs include amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opioids and PCP.

Overview

What is a drug test?

A drug test uses a biological sample (such as blood or urine) to detect the presence or absence of a legal or illegal drug. Drug tests are ordered and performed in a variety of settings with a variety of techniques.

Drugs include legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco, as well as over-the-counter medications, prescription medications and illegal substances. A single drug test can’t determine the frequency and intensity of substance use and, thus, can’t distinguish casual substance use from substance use disorders.

Your body metabolizes (breaks down) various drugs at different rates, so the timeframe for detecting certain drugs in your system can be very specific and vary widely from substance to substance.

Urine drug testing (UDT) is the most common test for detecting drugs.

When would I need a drug test?

You may need a drug test for several reasons. The most common use of drug testing is in the workplace. Employers may require a drug screening for various reasons, including:

• Before hiring an applicant.
• During someone’s employment — an employer may randomly or periodically require drug testing after they hire an employee.
• When drug use is suspected based on signs and symptoms observed in the workplace.
• After an employee has an accident or incident while working.

Another common use of drug testing is for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder. As a tool for monitoring, drug testing can help determine treatment adherence, monitor abstinence and detect early relapse.

You may need this testing for court-ordered treatment programs, as a term of probation or while participating in a substance use disorder treatment program.

Other uses for drug testing include:

• Medical testing and diagnostics: People may be tested for drug use to help determine the cause of their symptoms or in emergencies when healthcare providers suspect a potential drug overdose or poisoning.
• Legal testing: There are several reasons drug testing may be required for legal purposes, including collecting potential evidence of a crime, investigating cases of child abuse or endangerment and determining if a person is under the influence of alcohol or other substances while driving.
• Monitoring for prescription drug misuse: If you take a prescription drug with high addiction potential and/or the potential for misuse, such as opioids for pain, your provider may request a drug test to check the amount of the drug in your system.
• Athletic testing:Professional athletes often have to take a drug test to screen for drugs or other substances considered performance-enhancing.

What are the types of drug tests?

There are several kinds of drug tests based on the biological sample they use and the types of drugs they detect.

Different types of drug tests based on the sample used include:

• Urine drug testing (UDT): This is the most common drug test. It requires a sample of your urine (pee). Urine drug tests are most commonly used to detect alcohol, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, opiates/opioids, cocaine and marijuana (THC).
• Blood drug testing: Healthcare providers mainly use this type of test in emergencies. It’s also typically used to detect alcohol (ethanol) levels because it can provide a precise level.
• Hair follicle drug testing: A hair sample can provide information on substance use over time. Scalp hair has a detection window of three months, while slower-growing body hair has a detection window of up to 12 months. The results can vary based on the characteristics of each person’s hair. Hair testing can detect the use of cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), amphetamines, opioids and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
• Breath drug testing: This is primarily used to detect recent alcohol consumption. The result is called a breath alcohol concentration (BrAC). Officials often use it to estimate a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC). However, BrAC can sometimes overestimate or underestimate the BAC. Recent research has focused on the potential use of breath testing for detecting cocaine, marijuana, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, opioids, methadone and buprenorphine.
• Sweat drug testing: Sweat testing involves wearing an absorbent pad on your skin that’s collected and tested after a certain amount of time. The results provide information on how much of a substance the person consumed over the entire time that they wore the pad. Sweat testing gives a detection window of hours to weeks.

Test Details

What will a drug test detect?

When a drug enters your body, your gastrointestinal tract absorbs and distributes it to the rest of your body. Your liver and other organs metabolize the drug (break it down). Metabolic processes cause the drug to turn into different chemicals, called metabolites. After a certain amount of time, the drug and/or its metabolites leave your body, mainly through your urine.

A drug test screens for certain drugs and/or their metabolites in a biological sample (such as urine or blood).

The metabolic processes happen at different speeds for different drugs. Because of this, each drug and its metabolites have a different timeframe in which a drug test can detect them.

For some drugs like amphetamines, the main (parent) drug will be detected in urine. For most other drugs, metabolites will be detectable for a longer time than the main drug.

A drug test may look for only one drug, but most drug tests often test for multiple drugs with one sample. Although the drugs included in a drug panel test vary based on the reason for the test, the most common panel used to evaluate people for illegal drug use detects the presence or absence of five substances:

Other commonly tested substances include:

• Alcohol (ethanol).
• Antidepressants.
• Barbiturates.
• Benzodiazepines.
• Fentanyl.
• Heroin.
• Hydrocodone.
• Methadone.
• Methamphetamine.
• Morphine.
• Nicotine and cotinine.
• Oxycodone.

Are at-home drug tests available?

Yes. Some kits can test urine samples in the privacy of your own home. Some kits may use breath, saliva or hair instead. The accuracy of these products is variable. They generally are less sensitive than the formal tests done in a laboratory. This means that a home test could be negative, but a laboratory test could be positive with the same sample.

The American Academy of Pediatrics cautions parents against drug testing their children at home. Research studies have shown that at-home testing doesn’t reduce drug use. At-home testing also comes with the potential for misinterpreting results, which may negatively affect the relationship between children and parents.

How do I prepare for a drug test?

There’s nothing you need to do to prepare for a drug test.

Drug testing can be an emergency test, a scheduled test or it may be conducted randomly (for example, to meet ongoing employment requirements).

Depending on the circumstances, you may be asked to identify medications or supplements you’re taking.

What should I expect during a drug test?

Drug testing can be performed from small samples of your blood, hair, saliva, breath or, most commonly, your urine (pee).

For a urine sample, you’ll pee into a clean container provided to you. In some instances, you may need to provide your urine sample in the presence of a nurse or technician to make sure that the sample did indeed come from you.

For a blood sample, a phlebotomist will draw a small amount of blood from a vein in your arm or hand.

After the provider has collected the sample, they’ll send it to a laboratory for analysis

Results and Follow-Up

When should I know the results of a drug test?

The time it takes to get the results of a drug test varies based on the reason for the test (for example, if it’s for an emergency or employment screening) and the type of drug test.

Urine and blood drug tests usually have a quicker turnaround time for results than hair drug testing.

Ask the institution that requested the drug test about when you can expect results.

What type of results do you get from a drug test?

Drug test results are typically reported as positive or negative.

A positive result indicates that a drug was detected at or above the reference range for that test. A negative result indicates that the drug wasn’t detected or was below the threshold for a positive test result.

What do the results of a drug test mean?

There are several considerations to remember when understanding a drug test’s results.

Understanding a positive drug test result

A positive result on a drug test simply means that the person had a detectable amount of a substance present during a certain window of time. A positive result doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is currently intoxicated or experiencing the effects of the substance. A positive result also doesn’t necessarily mean that the person has a substance use disorder.

Positive results on an initial drug test usually need to be confirmed with additional testing. Confirmatory testing uses a different type of drug test. It improves the accuracy of the overall drug testing by reducing the risk of false-positive results (when someone tests positive for a drug even though they never used it).

Medications and certain foods may produce false-positive results. For example, consuming poppy seeds can cause a positive opioid test result, and taking over-the-counter cold medicine can cause a positive result for PCP.

Understanding a negative drug test result

A negative result on a drug test simply means that the particular substance couldn’t be detected. This could be because its level wasn’t sufficient enough to be detected or that the substance use didn’t happen during the detection window. A negative result doesn’t, however, rule out recent substance use or a substance use disorder.

False-negative results (when a person tests negative for drugs despite drug use or misuse) can happen for several reasons, including:

• Improper sample collection or testing.
• The person attempted to falsify a drug test (for example, by using someone else’s urine sample).
• A drug isn’t evaluated in a specific test (for example, amphetamine testing doesn’t test all types of amphetamines).

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Drug testing has a wide range of applications. Though it can be stressful to get a drug test, know that healthcare providers and officials carefully analyze and interpret the results. In most cases, a positive drug test result requires another test, known as a confirmatory test, to rule out a possible false-positive result. If you have questions about the drug test process or when to expect results, talk to the person in charge of ordering the test.