What Is The Appropriate Way To Read a Urine Drug Test Cup?

Drug test cup is one of the popular methods of drug testing. Urine drug tests are typically used for compliance assessment, pre-employment screening, and home substance abuse prevention. Collecting and reading specimens requires you to follow appropriate steps to accurately determine the test results. This involves becoming familiar with the components of your tests and how to interpret each one.

Thus, consider following the below-mentioned tips to accurately read your urine drug test.

1. Locate control and test regions- swap to #2

Each panel of the urine drug testing cup contains two regions — the Control region (C) marked at the top and the test region (T). The control region represents that the test is working correctly, while the test region of the cup indicates whether the suspected drug you are testing is present or not.

After collecting the sample in the urine drug testing cup, wait for the line to show up next to the control region (C) mark. However, if the control line does not appear after 5 minutes of sample collection, it is recommended to discard the kit and administer a new one for accurate results.

2. Obtain a sample swap to #1

The person being tested or testing themselves for drugs of abuse, for a treatment center, probation, employment new hire, pre-employment, random testing, reasonable suspicion, follow up, parent testing child, drug usage must urinate into the sample cup to the appropriate volume or fill to line, needed for testing. Keep in mind that obtaining a significantly less specimen volume may not yield accurate results or maybe the donor is resisting the test by not providing enough specimens or has a shy bladder and cannot provide.

3. Wait for 5 minutes

Acquiring instant results after specimen collection is one of the significant benefits of instant urine drug tests and mouth swab drug tests.

Tip: It is recommended not to read the drug test result more than ten minutes after the sample is collected. The results are stable for 1 hour and after that time may lose accuracy prior to sample collection.

4. Identify colored lines

Negative drug test results

If you notice a colored line appearing in both the control and test regions, the result is Negative. A negative drug test results indicate that the drug or drugs in question were not found in the specimen. However, when assessing results, do not consider the color intensity of the line (faintness or darkness) as a faint line does not mean the sample contains some amount of a specific drug metabolite.

Positive drug test results

A colored line displayed in the control region and no line in the test region indicates a positive drug test result. A positive urine drug test results that the drug tests detect the drug or drugs in question. However, before a positive impact is ascertained, ensure that the Control Region (C) is marked with a colored line bar to indicate the test is valid and non-defective.

About us

Need a professional drug testing company to obtain reliable supplies and assistance? American Screening Corp can be your one-stop destination! Our experts aim to provide top-notch drug testing equipment to organizations and individuals. Being a premier ISO 13485 Certified distributor of cardiac tests, infectious disease tests, rapid alcohol and drug tests, and medical supplies, we ensure you only accurate test reports. Reach out to us at (318) 798-3306 or fill out our contact form for more information.