BrainWaves #124 Ethics of urine toxicology screening

MedLink Neurology Podcast is delighted to feature selected episodes from BrainWaves, courtesy of James E Siegler MD, its originator and host. BrainWaves is an academic audio podcast whose mission is to educate medical providers through clinical cases and topical reviews in neurology, medicine, and the humanities, and episodes originally aired from 2016 to 2021.

Originally released: November 8, 2018

A patient comes into the emergency department. They've got a headache. You get some basic labs, a chest x-ray, and a CT scan. And then you get a drug screen. But does this information even help you? And could it hurt the patient?

This week on the BrainWaves podcast, Dr. Emily Rosenthal shares her experience with Dr. Kelley Humbert on the ethics of toxicology "screening" and how she manages patients with a substance use disorder.

Produced by Emily Rosenthal, Kelley Humbert, and Jim Siegler. Music by Montplaisir, Lee Rosevere, and Kevin McLeod. Sound effects by Mike Koenig, Daniel Simion. BrainWaves' podcasts and online content are intended for medical education only and should not be used for clinical decision-making. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @brainwavesaudio for the latest updates to the podcast.

REFERENCES

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Eisen JS, Sivilotti ML, Boyd KU, Barton DG, Fortier CJ, Collier CP. Screening urine for drugs of abuse in the emergency department: do test results affect physicians' patient care decisions? CJEM 2004;6(2):104-11. PMID 17433159

Jones HE, Kaltenbach K, Heil SH, et al. Neonatal abstinence syndrome after methadone or buprenorphine exposure. N Engl J Med 2010;363(24):2320-31. PMID 21142534

Lager PS, Attema-de Jonge ME, Gorzeman MP, Kerkvliet LE, Franssen EJ. Clinical value of drugs of abuse point of care testing in an emergency department setting. Toxicol Rep 2017;5:12-17. PMID 29270362

Silver B, Miller D, Jankowski M, et al. Urine toxicology screening in an urban stroke and TIA population. Neurology 2013;80(18):1702-9. PMID 23596074

Smith PC, Schmidt SM, Allensworth-Davies D, Saitz R. A single-question screening test for drug use in primary care. Arch Intern Med 2010;170(13):1155-60. PMID 20625025

Tenenbein M. Do you really need that emergency drug screen? Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2009;47(4):286-91. PMID 19514875

We believe that the principles expressed or implied in the podcast remain valid, but certain details may be superseded by evolving knowledge since the episode’s original release date.