Drug Monitoring, Propoxyphene, Screen, Urine : 39365

QPROXU or 39365

Prescription Drug Monitoring, Pain Management

Preferred Specimen
20 mL urine

Alternative Specimen
Urine collected in urine collection container

Minimum Volume
5 mL

Transport Container
Clinical drug test transport vial

Room temperature.

Room temperature: 14 days; Refrigerated: 14 days; Frozen: 30 days

Preserved samples

Varies

< 300 ng/mL

d-Propoxyphene is a narcotic analgesic that is structurally related to methadone. The l-isomer is devoid of narcotic effects and is available as an antitussive. The FDA mandated the removal of propoxyphene products used for pain management in 2010. The test is a screening assay using a homogeneous enzyme immunoassay method of analysis. Therapeutic urine drug monitoring of propoxyphene is important for ensuring compliance to treatment strategies. Urine or oral fluid are the specimens of choice for routine monitoring of patients taking prescription drugs. Use of serum/plasma should be limited to anuretic patients, or where a patient's clinical appearance does not coincide with their prescribed medications. No single monitoring approach provides adequate information about the pattern or dose of patient drug use. Safest prescribing habits should include a combination of tools and laboratory test results to correctly detect drug use patterns. Urine drug test results equal to or greater than cutoff are reported as positive and results less than cutoff are reported as negative.