Therapeutics

Controlled substance testing options vary in the details they provide about patient drug use, painting an incomplete picture of usage patterns that can hinder accurate prescription monitoring and treatment outcomes. However, a new comprehensive Controlled Substance Monitoring Panel, developed by the Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic Laboratories, offers in-depth analysis on more than 70 different prescription medications and illicit substances to provide clinicians with details and interpretations on patients’ controlled substance use lacking in other laboratory assays.

In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Paul Jannetto, Ph.D., discusses the high-resolution targeted opioid screening test from Mayo Clinic Laboratories, which offers sensitivity and specificity for use in the monitoring and management of patients who are prescribed opioid pain-relieving medication.

Ann Moyer, M.D., Ph.D. gives an overview of this new test available through Mayo Clinic Laboratories. She discusses when this testing should be ordered, how this testing improves upon other testing approaches, and what clinical action can be taken due to the results of this testing.

This “Phlebotomy” webinar reviews: Having a medical procedure or a lab draw can be fearful for children. Even if it is their first time or they have had a bad past experience, there are ways to make these procedures easier for children.

How Your Genes Determine which Medications Work Best for You The drugs available today to treat diseases are powerful agents that work as intended for[...]

Pharmacogenomic testing is still limited, despite ample research, the existence of guidelines, and the emerging evidence it can help patients. Ann Moyer, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Director of the Personalized Genomics Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, makes a case for pharmacogenomics.

By taking into account an individual’s genes, lifestyle, and environment, precision medicine offers the prospect of finding individualized therapies that might ultimately cure diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Yet, as with other technological revolutions, precision medicine’s quest for innovation bumps up against a host of legal issues—for patients as well as laboratories and providers of care.

In this “Hot Topic,” Loralie Langman, Ph.D., discusses the prevalence of illicit drug use in the United States and describes testing for commonly encountered drugs. She also reviews drug detection limits, confirmation cutoffs, drug metabolism, and interpretation of screening and confirmation drug testing.