The use of oral fluid and sweat wipes for the detection of drugs of abuse in drivers

J Forensic Sci. 2002 Nov;47(6):1380-7.

Abstract

Blood, urine, oral fluid (by spitting or with a Salivette), and sweat samples (by wiping the forehead with a fleece moistened with isopropanol) were obtained from 180 drivers who failed the field sobriety tests at police roadblocks. With quantitative GC-MS, the positive predictive value of oral fluid was 98, 92, and 90% for amphetamines, cocaine, and cannabis respectively. The prevalence of opiate positives was low. The proposed SAMHSA cut-off values for oral fluid testing at the workplace, proved their usefulness in this study. The positive predictive value of sweat wipe analysis with GC-MS was over 90% for cocaine and amphetamines and 80% for cannabis. The accuracy of Drugwipe was assessed by comparing the electronic read-out values obtained on-site after wiping the tongue and the forehead, with the corresponding GC-MS results in plasma, oral fluid, and sweat. The accuracy was always less than 90% except for the amphetamine-group in sweat.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amphetamine / analysis
  • Automobile Driving*
  • Cannabinoids / analysis
  • Cocaine / analysis
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Humans
  • Illicit Drugs / analysis*
  • Narcotics / analysis
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Saliva / chemistry*
  • Substance Abuse Detection / methods*
  • Sweat / chemistry*

Substances

  • Cannabinoids
  • Illicit Drugs
  • Narcotics
  • Amphetamine
  • Cocaine