False positives??

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.

Hey - I have a question and was hoping someone may be able to shed some light. One of my stepsons has been in outpatient drug rehab for drinking Vodka in school. He was supposed to graduate today and instead of a certificate, he was informed that he failed a random UDS for benzos.

I know he could have gotten it and not admitted it (been there, done that!), but dh and I were trying to find out if anything else may cause a false positive for benzos. We don't have anything like that in our house. The strongest we have is Dramamine. Any ideas?

:banghead:

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What about amnien? My Doc said that they would sometimes show up as benzodiazapines in a drig screed, ......

Just some info I heard. Maybe ot wil help clear this up.

Good Luck and many blessings

Jillianna

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Specializes in ER, CVICU, Rapid Response.

Here is a link to check out: http://www.askdocweb.com/falsepositives.html

You can also reference labcorps website where they contain a cross-ref. for OTC drugs that can cause false-positives on UDS's. If you call and ask to speak to the lead pharmacist/toxicologist, he/she will be happy to speak to you even if the UDS wasn't performed there. I am personally in IPN (recovery program) and have found them to be very helpful.

Have you also considered the possibility that he may have obtained benzo's from friends or at the now popular Pill Mixer parties where kids grab all of the "pharmies" from their parents cabinets and mix them in a game of dare and just take them? Benzo's are EXTREMELY popular among teens and young adults as they mix them with ETOH for an increased high. I am not saying he did, just food for thought.

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on tnpap, had a false pos for benzo, later discovered high dose of zoloft can come back false pos i take 200 zoloft daily. also try googling drug name and ale pos drug screen

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Does not matter if it is a false-positive. It was positive. Rehab facilities have heard all of the excuses for abusing drugs. They will not believe any excuse.

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Well, I can tell you, after working in laboratory settings for over 7 years, that IA drug screens are NOT 100% accurate. That is why there is confirmation on non-negative tests with GC/MS (which is 99.9%) accurate.

If I were you I would call the lab and have it sent for GC/MS confirmation - if that hasn't already been done.

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i have tested positive for drugs i've never used before a couple of times. i don't think drug tests are fool proof. one of the times it was because i was taking zoloft and trazadone for sleep and it messed with the test. oddly, it was benzos and as i have said, i don't take those.

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