3 Health Conditions That Can Cause A False Positive On A Drug Test

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Up to 10% of positive drug test results turn out to be a false reading caused by unrelated factors. Although most people just put the blame on over the counter medications or innocent dietary ingredients, like poppy seeds, the false positive reading can also result from the presence of health abnormalities. Medical conditions often change the way the body processes substances, leading to the secretion of abnormal compounds through the urine and blood. Here are three conditions that interfere with obtaining accurate drug testing results.

Diabetes

Diabetes alters the way your metabolism functions when processing common food compounds. The metabolite profiles may actually change as your body becomes sensitive to glucose. Researchers can use those metabolite compounds to predict your chance of developing diabetes in the near future.

Unfortunately, those metabolite changes can also trigger a positive reading on a drug test. Alternatively, since the early stages of diabetes cause intense thirst, undiagnosed individuals run the risk of receiving inconclusive drug test results from providing diluted urine. For most drug labs, both positive and inconclusive readings result in a fail grade for the test.  

Kidney Disease

Kidney disease often presents with abnormal amounts and type of waste in the urine. The waste may consist of high amounts of protein or organic acid, like creatine. The effect intensifies as kidney function decreases, causing those compounds to build up in the body.  Since drug tests look for dramatic deviations in these metabolites, it's common to see false positives in patients with kidney disease.

Since some patients do not initially experience symptoms of kidney disease, it can be difficult to completely prevent false positive drug tests for these individuals. The test administrator may elect to retest using a different method after receiving notification of kidney complications for patients who receive a false positive result.  

Poor Liver Function

Poor liver function often arises due to stones in the ducts or damage from alcohol, diet or other complicating factors. As the liver ceases working correctly, it produces excessive enzymes, or proteins, that pass through the blood and urine. In a normally functioning liver, these enzymes stay within the confines of that organ.

The rapid release of the enzymes allows them to build up and mimic the structure of metabolites commonly detected by drug testing procedures. Liver failure doesn't always cause easily detectable symptoms that indicate a problem to the patient. As a result, some patients may learn of their poor liver function after obtaining a false positive drug test reading.

Communication Is Key

If you have any of the above conditions complicating your health status, talk to your drug test administrator before taking the test. The drug test officials can perform alternative testing procedures to eliminate false positives from the picture.

On the other hand, if your drug test comes up as positive, and you know you are clean, you may want to discuss the results with your doctor. Your doctor will perform a health examination and inquire about related symptoms to make sure you are not suffering from an undiagnosed condition. You may need urine and blood tests to identify and measure the proteins and other compounds causing a false positive reading. Physicians can use that lab information to find a suitable diagnosis and create a treatment plan.

You may be able to have the drug test repeated after securing a diagnosis or clean bill of health to confirm that the initial results were a fluke. Unfortunately, a retest is not always a possibility. Established polices of the lab or organization that ordered the test often determine if retests are available.  If you cannot have a follow up test performed, you may need to present a note from a qualified physician to negate the repercussions from testing positive for drugs. Ask places like SmartCare Health and Diagnostics what their process would be, should you have any of these three problems.

28 April 2015