Adulteration Testing

At Bay Clinical Laboratories, we take adulteration testing seriously. Adulteration testing is the initial step in ensuring your drug test panel results are accurate. We are a CLIA Certified and COLA Accredited Clinical Reference Toxicology Laboratory dedicated to providing fast, accurate, and comprehensive drug testing to our clients nationwide in the greater Baltimore, MD area. Bay Clinical Laboratories offers extensive and customizable drug test panels and adulteration testing. All of our drug test panels and adulteration testing procedures are conducted by highly-trained scientists using Advanced Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

The Problem of Adulteration

Adulteration is a concern with numerous types of drug testing, but it is a very common issue with urine testing, particularly with addiction treatment centers, pain management clinics, and drug and alcohol detox centers where there is a higher-than-average likelihood for positive test results.

Adulteration of a urine sample occurs whenever manipulation to secure a false negative result has occurred. Everything from using a sample from a relative to adding in chemicals to prevent the detection of a specific substance can be used to attempt to produce false negatives.

Adulteration Testing

Since adulteration is such a pervasive problem throughout addiction treatment centers, pain management clinics, and drug and alcohol detox centers, Bay Clinical Laboratories has the ability to utilize multiple testing methods to ensure sample authenticity.

Creatinine

In an unaltered urine sample, creatinine levels are typically between 20-300 mg/dL. Whenever someone being tested tries to “flush” out their system or use a detox substance to prevent a positive test, creatinine will be altered. If levels are below 5 mg/dL, the sample is not from a human.

Sample pH

In a healthy adult, the pH should fall between 3-11. Urine samples with a pH outside of that range indicate tampering or dilution.

Specific Gravity

When a urine sample is altered with a dilutant like water after the sample was given, the specific gravity level will be lowered. If substances are added to the urine sample, it will raise the specific gravity level.

Oxidants

Unfortunately, since urine testing has become a popular method of drug screening, there are numerous commercial adulterants sold on the market. Most of them contain oxidants designed to remove substances of abuse from samples. Since a proper urine sample should have no oxidants present, we test for the presence of oxidants in all urine samples.