Surveillance of drug abuse in Hong Kong by hair analysis using LC‐MS/MS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the habits of drug abusers in hair samples from drug rehabilitation units in Hong Kong. With the application of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology, a total of 1771 hair samples were analyzed during the period of hair testing service (January 2012 to March 2016) provided to 14 drug rehabilitation units including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), rehabilitation centers, and medical clinics. Hair samples were analyzed for abused drugs and their metabolites simultaneously, including ketamine, norketamine, cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, norcocaine, codeine, MDMA, MDA, MDEA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, phencyclidine, and methadone. The results showed that ketamine (77.2%), cocaine (21.3%), and methamphetamine (16.5%) were the frequently detected drugs among those drug abusers, which is consistent with the reported data. In addition, the usage of multiple drugs was also observed in the hair samples. About 29% of drug-positive samples were detected with multiple drug use. Our studies prove that our locally developed hair drug-testing method and service can be a valid tool to monitor the use of abused drugs, and which could facilitate rehabilitation program management.

Oral fluid analysis to monitor recent exposure to synthetic cannabinoids in a high‐risk subpopulation

“…Recently, epidemiological studies evaluating exposure to xenobiotics took the advantages of non-conventional matrices such as oral fluid [7][8][9][10] or hair [11,12], being more attractive to volunteers due to low invasiveness. On this frame, oral fluid has become increasingly popular as alternative biological specimen for the detection of parent drugs and metabolites [13].…”

Time course of estazolam in single-strand hair based on micro-segmental analysis after controlled oral administration

“…Zheng Han, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China drug misuse in drug rehabilitation programs and workplace drug testing (Salomone et al, 2016;Leung et al, 2018;Stowe et al, 2019). When compared with blood testing, hair analysis has some advantages, such as non-invasive sample collection, relatively easy performance, long detection window of drugs over months to years, and ability for use under close supervision of law enforcement officers in forensic situations to prevent adulteration or substitution (Nakahara et al, 1992;Kintz, 2017).…”

“…Since the late 1990s, hair testing for drugs in humans has been increasingly applied in the forensics, clinical, and anti-doping fields ( Chèze et al, 2005 ; Xiang et al, 2011 ; Franois et al, 2014 ; Salomone et al, 2017 ; Wang et al, 2019 ). In forensic toxicology, hair testing has been used to provide drug exposure history in drug-related deaths, drug-facilitated crimes (DFCs), child protection ( Scott, 2009 ; De Castro et al, 2012 ; Alvarez et al, 2018 ), and for monitoring drug misuse in drug rehabilitation programs and workplace drug testing ( Salomone et al, 2016 ; Leung et al, 2018 ; Stowe et al, 2019 ). When compared with blood testing, hair analysis has some advantages, such as non-invasive sample collection, relatively easy performance, long detection window of drugs over months to years, and ability for use under close supervision of law enforcement officers in forensic situations to prevent adulteration or substitution ( Nakahara et al, 1992 ; Kintz, 2017 ).…”

Forensic toxicological analysis of hair: a review

“…Therefore, LC-MS/MS is gradually replacing the gas chromatographic techniques in both screening and confirmation procedures. Nowadays, it is increasingly acknowledged as the technique of choice for hair analysis (Di Corcia et al 2018;Leung et al 2018). After washing and digestion, the drugs are extracted with some suitable solvent by liquid-liquid extraction and then by SPE.…”