Revised Toxicology and Drug Testing Document C52

Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA—The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute has published the toxicology and chemistry guideline Toxicology and Drug Testing in the Medical Laboratory (C52-Ed3).

Toxicology and Drug Testing in the Medical Laboratory (C52-Ed3) helps medical laboratories develop procedures for analyzing drugs of abuse and other compounds. C52 provides guidance on clinical toxicology testing from the initial consultation through final result reporting and interpretation, and includes a variety of specimen types, analytical procedures, and instrumentation.

This guideline provides recommendations for qualitative and quantitative testing for the following purposes:

• Detecting drugs, medications, and chemicals in the setting of toxic ingestion.
• Ensuring medication compliance.
• Identifying noncompliant patients who use ethanol, take nonprescribed medications, or use illicit or recreational substances.
• Identifying medication noncompliance.
• Providing a better understanding of unexpected findings of the presence of ethanol or medications.
• Identifying abnormal or unexpected drug metabolism.

For more information about C52, contact Patrick McGinn at pmcginn@clsi.org or +1.484.588.5933.

CLSI sets the standard for quality in medical laboratory testing. A not-for-profit membership organization, CLSI brings together the global laboratory community for the advancement of a common cause: to foster excellence in laboratory medicine.

For nearly 50 years, our members, volunteers, and customers have made CLSI a respected, transformative leader in the development and implementation of medical laboratory testing standards. Through our unified efforts, we will continue to set and uphold the standards that drive quality test results, enhance patient care delivery, and improve health care around the world.

By using CLSI standards, laboratorians can improve process quality, speed the development of standard operating procedures, and implement safer practices with greater ease and efficiency.