TY - JOUR
T1 - Concordance of self-reported drug use and saliva drug tests in a sample of emergency department patients
AU - Macdonald, Scott
AU - Cherpitel, Cheryl J.
AU - Stockwell, Tim
AU - Martin, Gina
AU - Ishiguro, Sonya
AU - Vallance, Kate
AU - Brubacher, Jeff
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The purpose of this study was to assess the concordance of self-reports of cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines usage, with a saliva point-of-collection drug test, the DrugWipe 5+, in an emergency department (ED) setting. Methods: A random sample of people admitted to either of two emergency departments at hospitals in British Columbia, Canada were asked to participate in an interview on their substance use and provide a saliva test for the detection of drugs. Analyses: Concordance of self-reports and drug tests were calculated. Prior to DrugWipe 5+, sensitivity and specificity estimates were compared against a gold standard of mass spectrometry and chromatography (MS/GC). This was used as a basis to assess the truthfulness of self-reports for each drug. Results: Of the 1584 patients approached, 1190 agreed to participate, which is a response rate of 75.1%. For cannabis, among those who acknowledged use, only 21.1% had a positive test and 2.1% of those who reported no use had a positive test. For cocaine and amphetamines respectively, 50.0% and 57.1% tested positive among those reporting use, while 2.1% and 1.3%, respectively, reported no use and tested positive. Self-reports of cannabis and amphetamines use appear more truthful than self-reports of cocaine use.
AB - The purpose of this study was to assess the concordance of self-reports of cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines usage, with a saliva point-of-collection drug test, the DrugWipe 5+, in an emergency department (ED) setting. Methods: A random sample of people admitted to either of two emergency departments at hospitals in British Columbia, Canada were asked to participate in an interview on their substance use and provide a saliva test for the detection of drugs. Analyses: Concordance of self-reports and drug tests were calculated. Prior to DrugWipe 5+, sensitivity and specificity estimates were compared against a gold standard of mass spectrometry and chromatography (MS/GC). This was used as a basis to assess the truthfulness of self-reports for each drug. Results: Of the 1584 patients approached, 1190 agreed to participate, which is a response rate of 75.1%. For cannabis, among those who acknowledged use, only 21.1% had a positive test and 2.1% of those who reported no use had a positive test. For cocaine and amphetamines respectively, 50.0% and 57.1% tested positive among those reporting use, while 2.1% and 1.3%, respectively, reported no use and tested positive. Self-reports of cannabis and amphetamines use appear more truthful than self-reports of cocaine use.
KW - Illicit drug use
KW - Saliva testing
KW - Self-reports
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84894441679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3109/14659891.2012.760010
DO - 10.3109/14659891.2012.760010
M3 - Journal Article
AN - SCOPUS:84894441679
SN - 1465-9891
VL - 19
SP - 147
EP - 151
JO - Journal of Substance Use
JF - Journal of Substance Use
IS - 1-2
ER -