Disappearance of Tramadol and THC-COOH in Hair After Discontinuation of Abuse. Two Different Profiles.

The retrospective calendar of an individual's drug use requires a multisectional analysis in which the length of hair, corresponding to the full temporal window available, is cut into shorter sections to measure drug use during shorter periods of time (generally 1 cm corresponds to ~1 month). Segmental hair analysis is used to verify both previous drug history and recent enforced abstinence. However, after drug discontinuation, the fresh new hair growth segment cannot be immediately negative, due to the contribution of dormant hair. The objective of the study was to test hair samples from chronic tramadol and cannabis users after the discontinuation of both drugs and to evaluate the delay to wait until the hair will become negative. Hair specimens were obtained from eight subjects with a known history of tramadol abuse. Hair was collected 3-6 months after tramadol discontinuation. Tramadol was tested by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) with a LOQ at 5 pg/mg. A second set of hair specimens were obtained from 15 subjects with a known history of cannabis abuse. Hair was collected 6-9 months after cannabis discontinuation. THC-COOH was tested by LC-MS-MS with a LOQ at 0.2 pg/mg. The hair stands were cut into L × 1 cm segments, according to their length (L), and tested for the respective drug. It was asked to each subject to clearly indicate the date of drug discontinuation. Assuming a rate of hair growth of 1 cm/month, the segment corresponding to the time of last drug use was calculated. The older segment just before this one was considered as the 100% of the response. THC-COOH and tramadol concentrations in this segment ranged from 2.3 to 8.9 and 895 to 21,010 pg/mg, respectively. After cessation of drug consumption, the presence of both drugs in new growing hair segments continued for a certain period with a more or less broad transition zone. Negative hair results were obtained ~3-4 and 6-7 months after cessation of tramadol and cannabis abuse.

[1]  F. Musshoff,et al.  Proof of active cannabis use comparing 11-hydroxy-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol with 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations. , 2018, Drug testing and analysis.

[2]  J. Raul,et al.  Interpretation of Tramadol Findings in Hair. Concentrations After a Single Exposure and Application to a Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy Case. , 2018, Journal of analytical toxicology.

[3]  Jingying Hu,et al.  Disappearance of R/S-methamphetamine and R/S-amphetamine from human scalp hair after discontinuation of methamphetamine abuse. , 2018, Forensic science international.

[4]  P. Kintz.  Hair Analysis in Forensic Toxicology: An Updated Review with a Special Focus on Pitfalls. , 2018, Current pharmaceutical design.

[5]  J. Raul,et al.  Interpretation of Cannabis Findings in the Hair of Very Young Children: Mission Impossible. , 2018, Current pharmaceutical biotechnology.

[6]  Anongphan Junkuy,et al.  Duration of detection of methamphetamine in hair after abstinence. , 2015, Forensic science international.

[7]  C. Rustichelli,et al.  Tramadol chronic abuse: an evidence from hair analysis by LC tandem MS. , 2015, Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis.

[8]  P. Kintz.  Issues About Axial Diffusion During Segmental Hair Analysis , 2013, Therapeutic drug monitoring.

[9]  B. Shen,et al.  Disappearance of 6-acetylmorphine, morphine and codeine from human scalp hair after discontinuation of opiate abuse. , 2013, Forensic science international.

[10]  G. Koren,et al.  Pharmacokinetics of disappearance of cocaine from hair after discontinuation of drug use. , 2009, Forensic science international.

[11]  C. Lacroix,et al.  Pharmacocinétique du delta-9-tétrahydrocannabinol (THC) , 2008 .

[12]  R. Marsili,et al.  Disappearance of cocaine from human hair after abstinence. , 2005, Forensic science international.