Ann Lab Med.  2017 Nov;37(6):522-525. 10.3343/alm.2017.37.6.522.

Evaluation of the Triage TOX Drug Screen Assay for Detection of 11 Drugs of Abuse and Therapeutic Drugs

• Bang HI
• Jang MA
• Lee YW

• KMID: 2425994
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2017.37.6.522

Abstract

The demand for rapid and broad clinical toxicology screens is on the rise. Recently, a new rapid toxicology screening test, the Triage TOX Drug Screen (Alere Inc., USA), which can simultaneously detect 11 drugs of abuse and therapeutic drugs with an instrument-read cartridge, was developed. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of this new on-site immunoassay using 105 urine specimens; the results were compared with those obtained by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-TMS). Precision was evaluated according to the CLSI EP12-A2 for analyte concentrations near the cutoff, including Câ‚…â‚€ and±30% of Câ‚…â‚€, for each drug using standard materials. The Câ‚…â‚€ specimens yielded 35-65% positive results and the ±30% concentration range of all evaluated drugs encompassed the Câ‚…-C₉₅ interval. The overall percent agreement of the Triage TOX Drug Screen was 92.4-100% compared with UPLC-TMS; however, the Triage TOX Drug Screen results showed some discordant cases including acetaminophen, amphetamine, benzodiazepine, opiates, and tricyclic antidepressants. The overall performance of the Triage TOX Drug Screen assay was comparable to that of UPLC-TMS for screening of drug intoxication in hospitals. This assay could constitute a useful screening method for drugs of abuse and therapeutic drugs in urine.

Keyword

Agreement; Immunoassay; Drugs of abuse; Tandem mass spectrometry; Therapeutic drugs; Precision

MeSH Terms

Acetaminophen
Amphetamine
Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic
Benzodiazepines
Chromatography, Liquid
Immunoassay
Mass Screening
Methods
Street Drugs*
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Toxicology
Triage*
Acetaminophen
Amphetamine
Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic
Benzodiazepines
Street Drugs

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