Effect of beta-glucuronidase on urinary benzodiazepine concentrations determined by fluorescence polarization...

In samples from patients treated with oxazepam, beta-glucuronidase increased the immunoreactivity of urinary benzodiazepines analyzed by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA). Increasing concentrations of beta-glucuronidase added to samples from drug-free controls did not influence the results. In the absence of beta-glucuronidase, 22 of 35 samples from patients undergoing detoxification gave positive results at a cutoff concentration of 200 micrograms/L. Pretreatment with beta-glucuronidase increased the number of drug-positive samples to 33. The drug-negative samples were obtained from two patients who had been oxazepam-free for at least 1 week. Thus, beta-glucuronidase can be used to increase the sensitivity of the urinary benzodiazepine FPIA without reducing the specificity of the method.