Citation

Samyn N, Verstraete A. Blutalkohol 2000; 37(2): 58-69.

Affiliation

Natl. Inst. Criminalistics/Criminol., 1120 Brussels, Belgium.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Nineteen different on-site drug testing devices have been documented in the second work package of the Rosita project, representing approximately 33 brands on the international market. Sixteen are designed for urine, three for saliva, one for sweat. For urine, there exist roughly three kinds of test designs to obtain a result with an on-site drug test: a 'dip' test (teststrip or testcard), a 'pipette' test (testcassette) and a 'cup' test. Several manufacturers increase the flexibility of their product line by supplying a range of tests: for a single parameter, for multiple parameters, dip and pipette type tests. Seventy percent of the devices have a separate AMP and mAMP test. All devices can be stored at room temperature (15-25 (degrees)C). The cost of a urine test varies between 2 and 6 Euro for a single parameter, and 10 and 20 Euro for a five panel multitest. The devices for saliva cost between 6 and 18 Euro for one to five parameters. Since most of the on-site devices were tested in the laboratory, an evaluation of their user friendliness was done by three members of the laboratory personnel. Approximately sixty percent of the evaluated devices had a users quotation of 'good' to 'very good', thirty percent was considered 'acceptable', only one was 'not acceptable'. Only the Rapiscan saliva tester uses an electronic reader with easy storage of data. The objective interpretation of the result (absence of a reader), the detection of ecstasy and other designer amphetamines, and the specificity of the tests for the illicit amphetamines and morphine are problem issues. In an experimental study, Syva Rapidtest, Rapid Drug Screen, Rapitest and Teststik showed the best accuracy in the detection of cannabinoids in urine. All tests except Frontline showed sufficient sensitivity and specificity for the detection of benzoylecgonine in urine. All tests showed acceptable results for the detection of opiates in urine. Syva Rapidtest, Rapid Drug Screen, Rapitest and Instatest showed good results for the detection of amphetamine and MDMA in urine. Testcup and Teststik failed to detect MDMA, even at concentrations above 8000 ng/ml.