The instant drug test cups are one of the most popular methods of drug testing. Pre-employment screenings, compliance assessments, and home substance abuse preventions often involve urine drug testing. Here are the top three most important things to know about 5-panel, 10-panel, and 12-panel drug tests.
How To Read A Drug Test
You can start testing and interpreting results after you have selected the appropriate urine screening cup. To accurately determine the results of a test, specimens must be collected and interpreted according to the correct procedure. Being familiar with the components of the test and how each one is interpreted is important.
1. Locate the Test and Control Regions
Control Regions (C) are marked at the top of each panel, and Test Regions (T) are marked near the bottom. The Control Region indicates whether the test is working properly and the Test Region indicates whether the drug you are testing for is present.
As soon as a sample has been obtained, a line should appear next to the control region, or the C mark. If the Control line does not appear 10 minutes after obtaining a sample, discard the test and perform a new one.
2. Collect a Sample
The majority of people will opt for a multi-drug screening kit like the 12 Panel DrugConfirm Advanced Flat Panel Urine Drug Test Cup with Adulterants. Because a multi-drug test kit detects multiple substances at once, it can save you time. During the test, the subject must urinate into the sample cup in an appropriate quantity. A specimen that is too small may not produce accurate results.
3. Wait 5 Minutes
The primary advantage of Instant urine drug tests (e.g. cups and dip cards) and mouth swab tests is that they can yield results just a few minutes after the specimen is collected (urine). Don’t read the results of a drug test more than 10 minutes after the sample is collected. If the results are not accurate after this time, they cannot be trusted.
4. Recognize Colored Lines
Results of Negative Drug Tests
When a colored line appears next to both the Control Region and Test Region (as shown above), the result is NEGATIVE. A negative result means the drug, or drugs, in question have not been detected. When assessing results, the color intensity (faintness or darkness) of the line is not taken into account. The presence of a faint line DOES NOT mean that the specimen contains small amounts of a specific drug metabolite.
Results Of Positive Drug Tests
If no line appears in the Test Region (T) but a colored line appears in the Control Region (C), the drug test result is POSITIVE. Positive urine test results indicate that the drug, or drugs, in question, were detected by the drug test. Positive drug test results might be the starting point for action against an employee, parolee, student, etc. who abuses illicit substances.
A positive result can only be confirmed when the Control Region (C) is marked with a colored line indicating the test is valid and not defective. If there is no colored line marking the Control Region (C), the test is not valid, and the test result is not accurate.
IMPORTANT: Instant immunoassays are only used for preliminary screening. The positive test results obtained through instant drug tests should be sent to a SAMHSA-Certified laboratory site for confirmation if a preliminary screening test is positive.