383 – Detection of the Commonly used Antipsychotic Drugs from Human Hair and Urine in a Sample of Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Objective:

Hair drug testing measures the drug molecules embedded inside the hair shaft, eliminating external contamination as a source of a positive result.

Method:

Four drug groups with 20 schizophrenic patients for each drug (Haloperidol, Trifluoperazine, Clozapine and Risperidon). The 1^st visit included clinical assessment (semi-structured interview and diagnosis, and Positive and Negative Schizophrenia Symptom Scale PANSS) and urine & hair samples were taken after the first week of drug administration. The 2^nd visit was done and samples were taken after 4th week of drug administration. The 3^rd visit was done and samples were taken after 8th week of drug administration.

Results:

The four antipsychotics in this study can be detected earlier in urine than hair (starting from 1^st week in the former and 4th week in the later) HPLC test. There were significant differences in the mean scores of PANNS for the four drugs in 1^st, 4^th, and 8^th weeks.

Conclusion:

The advantages of hair analysis over urine analysis include the non-invasiveness, low cost, easier to collect, store, transport, the ability to measure a large number of potentially interacting toxic and biologically essential elements.