Detecting cocaine and opiates in urine: comparing three commercial assays

Urine screening is a potentially useful tool for detecting drugs of abuse in treatment, criminal justice, and other human service settings. This article examines the relative accuracy and other features of three drug screening assays sold by commercial laboratories: (1) Abbott Diagnostics ADx machine and reagents; (2) ONTRAK, manufactured by Roche Diagnostics; and (3) EZ-SCREEN, manufactured by Environmental Diagnostics. Urine samples (n=345) were collected from indigent men and women in a work and life skills program, and tested for cocaine and opiates with each of the kits. The ADx fluorescent immunoassay was presumed to be the most sensitive and specific screening method, and comparisons with the two visually-determined test kits supported this assumption. Of the two visual test kits, ONTRAK was the more specific assay, and was lower in cost and simplest to perform. Decision makers could employ similar evaluative methods in selecting drug testing materials.