Comparison of spot tests with AdultaCheck 6 and Intect 7 urine test strips for detecting the presence of adulterants in urine specimens

Background: Several adulterants are used to mask tests for abused drugs in urine. Adulterants such as "Klear" and "Whizzies" contain potassium nitrite while "Urine Luck" contains pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC). The presence of these adulterants cannot be detected by routine specimen integrity check (pH, specific gravity, creatinine and temperature). We previously reported the development of rapid spot tests to detect the presence of these adulterants. AdultaCheck 6 and Intect 7 urine test strips are commercially available for detecting the presence of these adulterants along with specific gravity, creatinine and pH in urine. Methods: The performance of these two test strips for detecting adulterants was compared with the results obtained by spot tests. Results: Both AdultaCheck 6 and Intect 7 effectively detected the presence of nitrite and pyridinium chlorochromate in urine. Moreover, both test strips successfully detected the presence of glutaraldehyde, for which no spot test is currently available. High amount of glucose and ascorbic acid did not cause any false positive result with AdultaCheck 6 or Intect 7. Conclusions: Both AdultaCheck 6 and Intect 7 can be used for checking the integrity of a urine specimen submitted for drugs of abuse testing. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.