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A patient with acute onset neurologic signs walk into your clinic and the owner admits the dog could have been exposed to illicit drugs.
Should you run an over-the-counter urine drug screen? What if the results aren’t what you expect?
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center explains the ins and outs of urine drug screens and how to get the best answers from them.
An OTC urine drug screen can be a useful diagnostic tool when treating toxicity or suspected toxicity cases in veterinary medicine. The tests are readily available, affordable and offer rapid results.
Its important to know when best to use them. They can be helpful when:
Most of the information available regarding these tests are based on literature from humans. One study with dogs did show that at least one type of urine drug screen correctly identified barbiturates, opiates, benzodiazepines and amphetamines/methamphetamines. This study also found that neither the OTC test nor gas chromatography mass spectrometry at standard settings identified methadone or marijuana in dogs known to have been exposed.
While the exact reason for these false negatives is not known, a possible reason may be dogs produce different metabolites than typically tested for in humans.
False positives can make testing a challenge. In humans, false positives are often due to drugs that are structurally similar to the drug being tested for. Here are a few areas where false positives may occur based on human data:
False positives are not the only potential complicating factor. The patient must have been exposed to a sufficient amount of drug and adequate time needs to elapse from the exposure for the drug to be in the urine. Specimen handling should also be considered, as some drugs like THC may adhere to glass or rubber.
For more information, read the Top 5 Tips for Treating Illicit Drug Exposures and listen to a free, recorded webinar by the APCC on the Toxicology of Illicit Drug Exposures.
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Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary staff that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet and can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $35 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poisoning case. It is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at
A quick, easy way to diagnose illegal drug exposure in dogs is to use over-the-counter urine drug tests designed for people. These tests are inexpensive ($10 to $35), easy to find at pharmacies, fast (results in 2 to 5 minutes), and easy to use. Many drugs such as benzodiazepines (i.e. Valium), barbiturates (i.e. Phenobarbital), amphetamines, methamphetamine, and opiates (i.e. heroin or morphine) can be accurately tested for in dogs. Unfortunately, human urine drug tests do not work well to test for marijuana in dogs. Dogs that ingest marijuana will often have falsely negative test results. These drug screens have not been closely evaluated in cats. Advertisement
Other methods:
- Creatinine is one of the tested parameters when identifying diluted urine. A common myth is that taking creatine or eating red meat will boost the creatinine in the urine. This is a false assumption and has no effect.
- The lab will immediately flag this. Animal urine is completely detectable.
- We have overheard daring drug test applicants saying that stealing the sample from the lab will prevent them from processing the results. The theory being that labs would never admit they lost a specimen, so they would report the test as negative, and the candidate would get hired anyway. This is not the case.
- This rumor says that raising the metabolism will reduce the amount of time a drug can be detected in the system, and eating a high-calorie diet and starting an intense exercise program will do the same. These are both incorrect.