Fingernail / Toenail Drug Testing

Nail testing is relatively new technology. Because nails are made up of the same substance as hair, deposits of drug and drug metabolites are stored in the nails as well. A major advantage of nail testing is the ability to test for more drugs than you can in a hair test. Here is a list of the testing panels offered and what they test for:

Generally nail testing consists of 10 clippings of fingernails or toenails. Depending on the source of the sample (fingers or toes), a nail test can detect drug use up to 8 months, even with regular clippings and trimmings.

Fingernails and toenails grow at different rates. Drugs can be identified in nail clippings 2-4 weeks following ingestion. Generally fingernails grow 3 - 5 millimeters a month while toe nails grow at a much slower rate of 1 millimeter per month.

Because of the relative slow growth of nails, a single use of a drug will not typically be detected during a nail analysis.  Nail testing is best used to the answer the question “Did the subject chronically use a drug within the past 6 to 8 months?”

All positive results are automatically subjected to confirmation testing by GC/MS.  GC/MS confirmed positive results are then sent to an MRO (Medical Review Officer) automatically.  An MRO is a specially trained physician who interviews the donor and assess if a positive test is due to a verifiable prescription drug, over-the-counter medication or food substance.  An MRO can reverse a positive laboratory test to a negative if warranted.