Urine drug screening (UDS) by POCT devices may be used in clinical drug testing to manage patients with substance use disorders or drug intoxication, particularly when the patient contact time is paramount. The primary focus should be on patient safety and achieving pre-defined long-term goals for each patient. Decisions to use POCT UDS should include consultation with the clinical laboratory, consideration of its risk versus benefit, recognition of its limitations (false positives and false negatives), and possible need for confirmatory testing (e.g. for positive UDS results). Dilute urine is a potential cause of false results, with many central laboratories including urine creatinine as part of the testing panel. Testing should not be done without a meaningful plan for results. Based on the limitations, POCT UDS should not be used to accuse patients of dishonesty, or as evidence for punitive measures.
Sources:
American Society of Addiction Medicine. Appropriate use of drug testing in clinical addiction medicine consensus document. [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2025].
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