Urine drug screen

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A urine drug screen is used to detect illegal and some prescription drugs in the urine.

Drug screen - urine

Before the test, you may be asked to remove all your clothes and wear a hospital gown. You will then be placed in a room where you have no access to your personal items or water. This is so you cannot dilute the sample, or use someone else's urine for the test.

This test involves collecting a "clean-catch" (midstream) urine sample:

The sample is then taken to the lab for evaluation.

The test involves only normal urination.

The test is performed to detect the presence of illegal and some prescription drugs in your urine. Their presence may indicate that you recently used these drugs. Some drugs may remain in your system for several weeks, so the drug test needs to be interpreted carefully.

No drugs in the urine, unless you are taking medicines prescribed by your provider.

If the test result is positive, another test called gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) may be done to confirm the results. The GC-MS will help tell the difference between a false positive and a true positive.

In some cases, a test will indicate a false positive. This can result from interfering factors such as some foods, prescription medicines, and other drugs. Your provider will be aware of this possibility.

Little M. Toxicology emergencies. In: Cameron P, Jelinek G, Kelly A-M, Brown A, Little M, eds. Textbook of Adult Emergency Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2015:chap 29.

Minns AB, Clark RF. Substance abuse. In: Walls RM, Hockberger RS, Gausche-Hill M, eds. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 140.

Pincus MR, Bluth MH, Abraham NZ. Toxicology and therapeutic drug monitoring. In: McPherson RA, Pincus MR, eds. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 23rd ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2017:chap 23.