When the presence of a targeted substance is detected during the initial screening, a confirmation test will be completed. Under federal regulations, DOT drug tests go through a two-step process. What Does a Positive Test Result Mean?Ī positive test result means that the targeted drug or drug metabolites were detected in the sample. If a test detects less than that minimum amount in a sample, it will be reported as a negative result. Under federal government guidelines, a minimum amount of drugs must be detected before a test will be reported as positive. In some cases, a test result will be reported as negative even though trace amounts of a drug were detected. What Does a Negative Test Result Mean?Ī negative drug test result means that a drug or its metabolites were not detected in the person’s sample. This stands for nanograms per milliliter and is a unit of measurement of a substance’s density. On a drug test lab report, you will see ng/ML next to the various substances that were tested for. There are also a variety of medications that can cause false positive drug test results, including cough suppressants, allergy medications, anti-hypertensive medications, sleep aids, and others.Įmployees and applicants should bring in their prescription drugs and provide a list of any over-the-counter medications they are taking to prevent false-positive results. The cut-off levels allow you to understand the chance that you might receive false positives.Ī drug test with a low cut-off level might result in more false positives because of trace amounts of substances that could be present because of innocent activities.įor example, a person who has eaten poppy seeds on a bagel or pastry might return a positive result for opiates on a drug test with a low cut-off level.Ī drug test with a fairly high cut-off level might mean that some drug traces might not be detected. What Does a Cut-off Level Refer to?ĭrug tests also have cut-off levels for different drugs used for determining whether a result will be reported as positive or negative. This makes it important for applicants and employees to bring lists of their prescription drugs with them when they undergo drug screens.
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