Opiates Serum Test

Doctors order opiates serum test for forensic or employment purposes. Opiates can be detected in the serum immediately after use or within a few hours. Some of the opiates that can be detected by this test are:

• Heroin - can be detected up to six hours after use. 
• Morphine - can be detected up to 12 hours after use. 
• Fentanyl - can be detected in the blood for up to 12 hours.
• Methadone - is detectable in the blood after 30 minutes of use up to three days.

Opiates serum test can be ordered in the following conditions:

• To monitor overdosing in opiate treatment 
• Before the court grants the child’s custody to a parent
• To rule out opiate misuse as a performance enhancer in athletes
• To hire an individual for a new job
• As a routine workplace drug test
• Before applying for a new insurance policy

Your doctor may also order the opiates serum test if he/she observes the following signs and symptoms related to opiate use or withdrawal:

• Changes in blood pressure or heart rhythm (Read more: Arrhythmia symptoms)
• Dilated pupils
• Drowsiness
• Slow speech
• Anxiety
• Nausea
• Difficulty breathing
• Hallucinations
• Seizures

You do not need any special preparation for this test. Fasting is not required either. If you are taking any prescribed, non-prescribed or illicit medications, inform your doctor before the test. Results of this test can be affected by medicines such as quinolone antibiotics, rifampicin, verapamil, quetiapine, doxylamine and diphenhydramine. Always consult your doctor before stopping any medication. Avoid eating poppy seed-containing foods before the test, as this may affect the test results.

Your healthcare practitioner or nurse will explain the steps of the test to you before it is performed. On the day of the test, a blood sample will be collected from a vein in your arm in the following manner:

• The laboratory technician will tie a tourniquet (an elastic band) around your upper arm and ask you to tighten your fist so that he/she can locate a vein 
• The site of needle insertion will be cleaned with alcohol 
• A sterile needle will be inserted into a vein, and a blood sample will be collected 
• After the sample is collected, the tourniquet will be removed and the site of injection will be covered with a bandage
• The technician will label the sample and send it to the laboratory for testing 

After the test, you may experience mild pain or bruising at the site of injection; however, these symptoms fade away on their own. If you experience persistent bruising or discomfort, please inform your doctor.

Normal results:

A normal result in the opiates serum test is reported as negative, absent or undetected. This indicates that the concentration of opiates is less than the reference value or there is no opiate in the blood sample. The reference values for some of the opiates, in nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL), are as follows:

• Morphine: <10 ng/mL
• Codeine: <10 ng/mL
• Oxycodone: <20 ng/mL
• Hydrocodone: <10 ng/mL

Abnormal results:

An abnormal result is reported as present, detected or positive. This indicates that the given blood sample has higher than the reference range of opiates. A positive initial drug screening means that the person tested may have taken an opioid. However, screening tests are not definitive, and confirmatory testing may be ordered to confirm the result.

Disclaimer: All results must be clinically correlated with the patient’s complaints to make a complete and accurate diagnosis. The above information is provided from a purely educational point of view and is in no way a substitute for medical advice by a qualified doctor.