Introduction. Hair analysis is a useful tool in clinical, administrative and forensic fields; it allows to obtain long term information concerning drugs of abuse consumption, but the lack of data often does not allow to find a correlation between consumption and drug concentration in hair. Aim. The purpose of this study was to compare the concentration of cocaine in hair with self-reported drug intake. Methods. 113 subjects (61 Africans, 52 Caucasians) just admitted to the jail were asked to report their use of illicit drugs during the last three months and they were submitted to hair analysis. They had to answer about the class of drug used and the frequency of consumption (triple choice among: daily, 2-4 times per week, 1-2 times per month). Hair segments (3 cm) were analyzed by GC-MS for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine and opiates. Results. Useful data were obtained from 82 subjects declaring cocaine consumption: in 43 cases cocaine use was reported as daily, in 28 weekly and in 9 occasional. Cocaine (COC) and benzoylecgonine (BE) were always found in hair, and results were the following on average: daily use COC 53,93 ng/mg, BE 5,91 ng/mg; weekly use COC 28,91 ng/mg, BE 3,76 ng/mg; monthly use COC 7,65 ng/mg, BE 0,98 ng/mg. The study revealed good agreement between qualitative results and declared consumption. As regard the correlation between frequency of consumption and concentrations in hair, we often observed high concentrations against low consumption declared. There was quite good separation only between occasional and daily use (especially in Caucasian people), while concentrations found when weekly employment was reported are more scattered. Concentrations of cocaine found in Africans were very higher than in Caucasians. Conclusions. Even if this study is based only on self-report, it provides some interesting information in order to distinguish the frequency of consumption, and particularly it underlines the great importance of racial bias on hair analysis.
Hair testing and self report of cocaine use
VIGNALI, CLAUDIA MARIA;STRAMESI, CRISTIANA;GROPPI, ANGELO
2010-01-01
Abstract
Introduction. Hair analysis is a useful tool in clinical, administrative and forensic fields; it allows to obtain long term information concerning drugs of abuse consumption, but the lack of data often does not allow to find a correlation between consumption and drug concentration in hair. Aim. The purpose of this study was to compare the concentration of cocaine in hair with self-reported drug intake. Methods. 113 subjects (61 Africans, 52 Caucasians) just admitted to the jail were asked to report their use of illicit drugs during the last three months and they were submitted to hair analysis. They had to answer about the class of drug used and the frequency of consumption (triple choice among: daily, 2-4 times per week, 1-2 times per month). Hair segments (3 cm) were analyzed by GC-MS for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine and opiates. Results. Useful data were obtained from 82 subjects declaring cocaine consumption: in 43 cases cocaine use was reported as daily, in 28 weekly and in 9 occasional. Cocaine (COC) and benzoylecgonine (BE) were always found in hair, and results were the following on average: daily use COC 53,93 ng/mg, BE 5,91 ng/mg; weekly use COC 28,91 ng/mg, BE 3,76 ng/mg; monthly use COC 7,65 ng/mg, BE 0,98 ng/mg. The study revealed good agreement between qualitative results and declared consumption. As regard the correlation between frequency of consumption and concentrations in hair, we often observed high concentrations against low consumption declared. There was quite good separation only between occasional and daily use (especially in Caucasian people), while concentrations found when weekly employment was reported are more scattered. Concentrations of cocaine found in Africans were very higher than in Caucasians. Conclusions. Even if this study is based only on self-report, it provides some interesting information in order to distinguish the frequency of consumption, and particularly it underlines the great importance of racial bias on hair analysis.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
