Other causes of failed PEth test for alcohol abuse?

It has been brought up the chain... and documented! So when the music stops, they ain’t gonna have a chair...

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My husband successfully went through the HIMS program and is now a peer monitor for pilots (his airline requested him to be one). He has jumped through all the hoops and has been in compliance since day 1 of signing his HIMS agreement. He is six years sober as of this week. He works for an overseas carrier and their avmed department has always done the peth test collection and sent it to USDTL here in the states. All his tests have been negative. As of Covid, majority of flying is grounded. The company requested him to do a Peth test a few weeks ago. On the USDTL site he found a collection site in our area. Fast forward to this week, the test came back at 93ng. ALL other tests have been negatives (urine, ctg) and I KNOW he has had ZERO alcohol. The person administering the test was not familiar with the test and kept having to ask her supervisor how to do it. It just made us wonder if her inexperience with administering the test caused a positive result. So my husband and I decided to watch the official collection procedures on the USDTL site, and now we can see there are glaring problems on how she did the test. Every step of the way she did it incorrectly. My husband went to the same testing site yesterday, had them redo the test BUT do a blood draw and also do a hair test. He also did another Peth test (dry blood spot) today with a different company USDTL recommended from their site. Today as well he did a blood draw for a Peth test through Labcorp. So 4 Peth tests total in under 2 weeks, plus the add on of the hair sample.
USDTL - will be responsible for 3 more additional tests. The blood draw and hair taken yesterday by the first company and the dry blood spot taken today by a different company
Labcorp - will be responsible for one blood draw test taken today.
There are major problems that courts and companies are relying on just this one test and throwing everything else to the wayside. Since hair / nails go back 3 months you would think that this would invalidate the Peth.
Even on USDTL site it has the slogan "Alcohol Testing Think 3-3-3" which means using different testing methods like Urine, Blood, Hair / Nails for evaluation.
My husband told me that the other recommended USDTL company he went to this morning, he had to walk the woman on how to do the test! Unbelievable. We are both upset at the ignorance of the people collecting do the dry blood spot test. And mind you this USDTL recommending these companies. I think we should all carefully document how the test is done each and every time. If there is enough data then hopefully we can see a pattern.
Upon evaluating the USDTL instruction video, why is the tester / patient washing their hands and then touching other papers and pen, this sets the test up for contamination. Administrative stuff should all be done first, then wash hands, then isopropyl pad, then the lancet.

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Everything you say is correct. And there is a lot more going on than is here. Check your private messages and give me a shout, I’ll fill you in, and explain what’s going on with the peth test.

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To Milo / FlyBoy / Tools.....There is a common thread among all of us here. The way the dry spot blood test is being administered by the lab employee is skewing the test. The fact that on these past 2 separate occasions (the only 2 conducted here in the states), my husband had to walk the lab tech on how to administer the dry blood spot (DBS) test is troubling. Each time he got blowback on it by the tech. Mind you, these were USDTL recommended facilities administering their Peth test.
So it begs the question, is USDTL doing an audit of these labs they contract with and ensuring that lab techs are following the procedures and administering USDTL'S DBS test properly? If they are auditing, how often is it happening? Is there faulty manufacturing of the DBS cards?
Is the actual Peth test too sensitive to begin with? When will there by FDA approval?
Are there problems with storage and / or transport?
The complete laisse faire attitude by the lab tech about doing the test properly is sickening. They clearly do not understand the ramifications of a positive test or in ALL our instances here a False-positive test.
Should my husband need to do yet another one of these in the states, I will go with him as an eye witness, and film the procedure being done, if possible. People's careers and children are at stake over the inaccuracy of this test.
I truly believe that people's testimony here is only the microscopic tip of the iceberg to a much larger problem with this test, and many other alcohol tests.

Where are the studies of control groups in an isolated and monitored setting that enter rehab, do an initial Peth test upon entry, then repeat the Peth test at 2, 4, 6 weeks subsequently. Plus make sure both methods are used, a blood draw and the DBS, and in addition, send out to labs other than USDTL. I have yet to come across any such research. This certainly would be worth a warranted request to USDTL to see peer review if a study like this has been done.

Wish there was a way to reach out to all unions and general public who must take this test for compliance reasons and hear other testimonials about dealing with false positive on the Peth tests. How do we report labs that are not doing procedures correctly? How do you hold labs / labs tech accountable for not doing a test properly, that can ultimately be disastrous for the individual? Apparently YES you can!!! It's called clinical laboratory malpractice.

The above article also references other states. "Finally, the Court was persuaded by the fact that courts in New York, Pennsylvania and Wyoming have all determined that a drug testing facility owes a duty of care to the person subject to testing."

My apologies for the long post.

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I believe something is wrong with the finger stick test, a 20 step procedure to obtain the sample.
Also I was diagnosed with bacterial overgrowth. Leaky gut. Methane breath test confirmed it. That can also effect the resuls. My hair follicle tests were Negative, my mail tests negative, my venous draws were also negative.
I am an RN who sought help, no problems with work, no DUIs, . The nursing board handed down a years worth of testing. I had 3 " positive " tests. My treatment center uses a local owned lab . I wonder about this " middle man lab". Back in May of 2019, another " middle man lab", in or around Dothan, Alabama was found guilty of changing drug test results. They had a contract with the state of Alabama or maybe that county's DHS. When there were positive tests, well more drug tests, ( more money in their pockets) occurred. These tampered results cost more than money, it cost families. Children were removed from their home. I am cash poor so to speak. My word against theirs. I don't have the money to go after that middle man lab. I have had no problems with Lab Corp or Affinity Labs.

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