Which statement about point-of-care urine drug screening is true?

Which statement about point-of-care urine drug screening is true?

• A. It detects oxycodone, methadone, and buprenorphine
• B. It differentiates parent drug from metabolite
• C. It is a screening tool only and may not detect some opioids
• D. It measures DNA

Answer: (C)

Point-of-care urine drug screening is a rapid, qualitative screening test that uses immunoassays to look for drug classes in urine. It’s designed to flag potential use quickly, not to provide a definitive, complete measure of every substance a person may have taken. Because these tests have limited sensitivity for certain opioids and depend on the specific panel and cutoffs, they may not detect drugs like oxycodone, methadone, or buprenorphine in some cases. For a more accurate and comprehensive assessment, confirmatory laboratory testing (such as GC-MS or LC-MS/MS) is used. It does not measure DNA.

Point-of-care urine drug screening is a rapid, qualitative screening test that uses immunoassays to look for drug classes in urine. It’s designed to flag potential use quickly, not to provide a definitive, complete measure of every substance a person may have taken. Because these tests have limited sensitivity for certain opioids and depend on the specific panel and cutoffs, they may not detect drugs like oxycodone, methadone, or buprenorphine in some cases. For a more accurate and comprehensive assessment, confirmatory laboratory testing (such as GC-MS or LC-MS/MS) is used. It does not measure DNA.