NCJ Number
146652
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 39 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1994) Pages: 150-158
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A large-scale drug screening study was conducted to determine the prevalence of drug use by obstetric patients seen at the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center in New York.
Abstract
Meconium and first voided urine, as well as maternal urine, were collected from 423 consecutive deliveries. Urine samples and methanolic extracts of meconium were initially screened by the enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique and then confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Analysis of cocaine metabolite as benzoylecgonine, cannabinoid as carboxy-THC, codeine, morphine, and methadone were included in the study. The positive rate for benzoylecgonine was virtually identical for meconium, maternal urine, and neonatal urine (12 percent). Analysis of meconium was found to be more reliable than analysis of maternal and neonatal urine for detecting benzoylecgonine. Meconium did not appear to offer an advantage over maternal or neonatal urine for detecting cannabinoid, codeine, morphine, and methadone. The potential future use of meconium in drug screening is discussed. 25 references and 3 tables