Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry
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Concomitant use of opioids and benzodiazepines can result in significant untoward effects. Point of care (POC) urine testing devices are commonly used tools to monitor patient use of medications. These useful devices are relatively inexpensive and yield immediate results that can be acted upon at the time of the appointment, although numerous limitations have been identified for specific medications or medication classes. We established the diagnostic accuracy of a commonly used POC testing method for benzodiazepines. ⋯ POC immunoassay for benzodiazepines could fail to provide accurate information regarding patient specific medication use. The false positive and false negative rates of the immunoassay were particularly high for clonazepam and lorazepam. Further testing of patient specimens using more accurate methods such as LC-MS/MS is necessary to provide definitive data that can assist in clinical decision making, and potentially protect these patients from untoward effects, morbidity and mortality.