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Pathology @ Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospitals

For a list of our accredited tests please visit the UKAS Website

Directorate News

  • New Drugs of Abuse Assay User Notification

    As of 25th March 2025 we will be introducing a new assay for drugs of abuse which will cover a wider repertoire of drugs and will now include some prescription drugs that are commonly abused.

    The new assay will use a high resolution accurate mass spectrometer to detect the following drugs:

    Drug Class

    Drugs

    Opiates and opioids

    Buprenorphine (+ metabolite), Codeine, Dihydrocodeine, Fentanyl (+ metabolite), Methadone (+ metabolite), 6-Monoacetylmorphine, Morphine, Oxycodone, Papaverine, Pethidine (+ metabolite) and Tramadol (+ metabolite).

    Benzodiazepines

    Alprazolam (+ metabolite), Bromazolam, Chlordiazepoxide (+ metabolite), Clobazam (+ metabolite),  Clonazepam (+ metabolite), Diazepam (+ metabolite), Etizolam, Flualprazolam, Flubromazolam, Flunitrazepam (+ metabolite), Lorazepam, Midazolam (+ metabolite), Nitrazepam (+ metabolite) and Temazepam (+ metabolite).

    Amphetamines

    Amphetamine, 2C-B, 2C-I, MDEA, MDMA (Ecstasy) (+ metabolite), MDPV, Mephedrone, Methamphetamine, Methylphenidate and Ritalanic acid.

    Other

    Cocaine (+ metabolite), Gabapentin, Ketamine (+ metabolite), Pregabalin, Promethazine, Quetiapine, Tetrahydrocannabinol metabolite (cannabis metabolite), Zaleplon, Zolpidem and Zopiclone.

    Positive results represent concentrations of drugs above the European Workplace Testing Thresholds with the exception of benzodiazepines.  We have lowered the cut off for this class of drug to 10ug/L to increase the detection of benzodiazepines.

    Bromazolam, Etizolam, Flualprazolam, Flubromazolam, THC-COOH glucuronide, Buprenorphine glucuronide and Norbuprenorphine glucuronide will be qualitative only.

    We do not screen for barbituates, propoxyphenes, phencyclidine, LSD or methaqualones.

    Drugs without a cut-off have been assigned one based on chemically similar compounds.

    If you have any queries regarding this please contact the duty toxicologist on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0121 424 1392.

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