Comparison of Sensitivity and Specificity of Commercial Amphetamine Tests

Abstract

Drug addiction is a disease that is characterized by a compulsion, a desire to take different substances permanently or for a certain period of time. Numerous negative incidents, such as crimes, work accidents and traffic accidents, are related to using illegal substances. Therefore, urine drug cassette tests have become a screening tool. However, considering legal consequences of test result, the question arises of their performance and reliability. On this account, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of urine drug tests available on the commercial pharmaceutical market. Evaluated tests were immersed in synthetic urine diluent spiked with amphetamine at various concentrations also containing potentially interfering substances such as caffeine, paracetamol and acetylsalicylic acid, and after a certain period of time, it was observed whether the result was as expected. The reference method used in this study was high-performance liquid chromatography. The obtained results confirmed the declared cut-off as well as specificity of rapid diagnostic tests.

Keywords

• amphetamines
• cassette tests
• high-performance liquid chromatography
• rapid drug detection test