Brief Report
Adding urine and saliva toxicology to SBIRT for drug screening of new patients
[Correction added on 21 July 2015, after first online publication: The authors affiliations have been corrected.]
Abstract
Background and Objectives
To determine illicit drug use among new patients in primary medical care who denied using “street drugs” during Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).
Methods
96 new patients who denied use of “street drugs” were tested for drugs as part of routine SBIRT screening.
Results
Of those tested, 14.6% of those with urine specimens and 4.1% of those with saliva specimens tested positive for illicit drugs.
Discussion and Conclusions
Drug toxicology can detect unreported illicit drug use during SBIRT screening, with urine being superior to saliva.
Scientific Significance
Drug toxicology can increase the effectiveness of SBIRT screening in primary care medical clinics. (Am J Addict 2015;24:396 –399)
