Detecting and confirming drug abuse involving cocaine
This test is not intended for employment-related testing.
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) Confirmation with Quantitation
Benzoylecgonine (Cocaine Metabolite)
Cocaine
Cocaine Confirmation, QN, Urine
Coke (Cocaine)
Crack (Cocaine)
Urine
1. For situations where chain of custody is required, a Chain-of-Custody Kit (T282) is available. For chain-of-custody testing, order COKEX / Cocaine and Metabolite Confirmation, Chain of Custody, Random, Urine.
2. Additional drug panels and specific requests are available. Call 800-533-1710 or 507-266-5700.
3. If urine creatinine is required or adulteration of the sample is suspected, order ADULT / Adulterants Survey, Random, Urine.
Supplies: Urine Tubes, 10 mL (T068)
Collection Container/Tube: Plastic urine container
Submission Container/Tube: 10-mL urine tube
Specimen Volume: 10 mL
Collection Instructions:
1. Collect a random urine specimen.
2. No preservative.
Additional Information:
1. No specimen substitutions.
2. STAT requests are not accepted for this test.
If not ordering electronically, complete, print, and send a Therapeutics Test Request (T831) with the specimen.
5 mL
All specimens will be evaluated at Mayo Clinic Laboratories for test suitability. |
Specimen Type | Temperature | Time | Special Container |
---|---|---|---|
Urine | Refrigerated (preferred) | 14 days | |
Frozen | 14 days | ||
Ambient | 72 hours |
Detecting and confirming drug abuse involving cocaine
This test is not intended for employment-related testing.
Cocaine is a drug of current health concern because of its proliferation among recreational drug abusers.
Freebase and crack increase the potential for major cocaine toxicity. Cocaine use is declining across the nation according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
Increasingly, laboratory results are disputed or there are medical/legal overtones. Therefore, physicians are finding an increased need to confirm positive results before informing or confronting the patients.
Negative
Positive results are reported with a quantitative gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) result.
Cutoff concentrations:
COCAINE BY GC-MS
<50 ng/mL
BENZOYLECGONINE BY GC-MS
<50 ng/mL
Reports will specifically indicate the presence or absence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine.
The presence of cocaine, or its major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, indicates use within the past 4 days.
Cocaine has a 6-hour half-life, so it will be present in urine for 1 day after last use.
Benzoylecgonine has a half-life of 12 hours, so it will be detected in urine up to 4 days after last use.
There is no correlation between concentration and pharmacologic or toxic effects.
1. Baselt RC, ed. Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man. 10th ed. In: Biomedical Publications; 2014
2. Langman LJ, Bechtel LK, Holstege C. Clinical toxicology. In: Rifai N, Chiu RWK, Young I, Burnham CAD, Wittwer CT, eds. Tietz Textbook of Laboratory Medicine. 7th ed. Elsevier; 2023:chap 43
To accommodate the need to confirm specifically the presence of cocaine in urine, Mayo Clinic Laboratories offers a single test to identify cocaine and its principal metabolite, benzoylecgonine, by using gas chromatography mass spectrometry.(Chinn DM, Crouch DJ, Peat MA, et al. Gas chromatography-chemical ionization mass spectrometry of cocaine and its metabolites in biological fluids. J Anal Toxicol 1980;4:37-42; Rosado T, Goncalves A, Margalho C, Barroso M, Gallardo E. Rapid analysis of cocaine and metabolites in urine using microextraction in packed sorbent and GC/MS. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2017;409(8):2051-2063. doi:10.1007/s00216-016-0152-2)
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements. It has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
80353
G0480 (if appropriate)
Test Id | Test Order Name | Order LOINC Value |
---|---|---|
COKEU | Cocaine and metabolite Conf, U | 53747-2 |
Result Id | Test Result Name |
Result LOINC Value
Applies only to results expressed in units of measure originally reported by the performing laboratory. These values do not apply to results that are converted to other units of measure.
|
---|---|---|
2922 | Cocaine-by GC/MS | 20519-5 |
2902 | Benzoylecgonine-by GC/MS | 16226-3 |
20671 | Cocaine Interpretation | 69050-3 |
28080 | Chain of Custody | 77202-0 |