Clinics in laboratory medicine
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"Bath salts" has attracted young adults primarily due to its stimulatory and hallucinogenic effects akin to amphetamines and cocaine. Although other designer amines have been incorporated to newer generation "bath salts", synthetic cathinones remain to be their major component. This article discusses our current understanding of the chemistry and metabolism of synthetic cathinones. It also presents a comprehensive review of the most recent laboratory analyses done on this class of compounds in drug products and biological samples.
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An epidemic of prescription drug abuse in the United States has increased the burden on clinical toxicology testing laboratories. Urine drug testing provides objective evidence for compliance and aberrant drug behavior in patients on chronic (non-cancer) pain management. This article describes the testing menu, drug testing assays including tandem mass spectrometry and their limitations, interpretation of opiate results and clinical considerations.