Skip to main content

View full-text article in PMC

. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Nov 2.

Published in final edited form as: Pediatr Clin North Am. 2019 Apr;66(2):353–367. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2018.12.006

Table 2.

Screening for opioid exposure

Biomatrix	Detection of Exposure	Properties	Drawbacks

Maternal or infant urine toxicology testing	Generally 1–3 d; longer for THC and benzodiazepines	Easy to collect Inexpensive	Women with OUD may have negative results by abstaining from use just before delivery or “rigging” (providing urine not their own)
Maternal or infant urine toxicology testing	Generally 1–3 d; longer for THC and benzodiazepines	Results readily available
			Reflects only recent exposure

Maternal plasma	12–72 h; longer for THC and benzodiazepines	Relatively inexpensive	Bruising
Maternal plasma	12–72 h; longer for THC and benzodiazepines	Results readily available	Reflects only recent exposure

Meconium	During 2nd-3rd trimester	May be difficult or impossible to collect (can be lost in utero)	Information about opioid use in the 2nd and 3rd trimester may not reflect abstinence closer to term, and may not be appropriate tests, particularly for women in OUD treatment
		May take up to 5 d to be available
		Expensive
Umbilical cord	During 2nd-3rd trimester	Easy to collect	Results may be delayed for several days
Umbilical cord	During 2nd-3rd trimester	Expensive

Abbreviation: THC, tetrahydrocannabinol.