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Urine Benzodiazepines Screen
Test CodeUBENZT
Alias/See Also
Bennies, BENZ, Benzodiazepine screen urine
Preferred Specimen
15 mL urine (2 mL minimum)
Instructions
Freshly voided urine specimens should be used for testing. No additives or preservatives are needed. Adulteration of the urine specimen may cause erroneous results. If adulteration is suspected, obtain a fresh specimen. Deliver specimen to laboratory immediately.
Transport Container
Urine collection cup
Specimen Stability
Room temperature: 4 hours, Refrigerated: 24 hours, Freeze if storage for longer than 24 hours is required.
Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)
Do NOT use boric acid as a preservative.
Limitations
• A positive result indicates the likely presence of benzodiazepines but does not indicate or measure intoxication.
• The presence of benzodiazepines in urine is only an indication of recent exposure to or use of benzodiazepines.
• The psychological and physiological effects of benzodiazepines do not necessarily correlate with urinary concentration.
• A positive BENZ result indicates the likely presence of drug and its metabolites. The BENZ method cannot fully quantitate the concentration of individual components.
• Interpretation of results must take into account that urine concentrations vary extensively with fluid intake, and other biological variables.
• There is a possibility that other substances and/or factors not listed above may interfere with the test and cause false results, e.g., technical or procedural errors.
• The presence of benzodiazepines in urine is only an indication of recent exposure to or use of benzodiazepines.
• The psychological and physiological effects of benzodiazepines do not necessarily correlate with urinary concentration.
• A positive BENZ result indicates the likely presence of drug and its metabolites. The BENZ method cannot fully quantitate the concentration of individual components.
• Interpretation of results must take into account that urine concentrations vary extensively with fluid intake, and other biological variables.
• There is a possibility that other substances and/or factors not listed above may interfere with the test and cause false results, e.g., technical or procedural errors.
Reference Range
None detected
Clinical Significance
Benzodiazepines are sedative-hypnotic drugs that are structurally similar and include widely used drugs such as chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, and oxazepam. Measurements obtained are used in the diagnosis and treatment of benzodiazepines use or overdose. A more specific alternate chemical method must be used in order to obtain a confirmed analytical result. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is the preferred confirmatory method. Other chemical confirmation methods are available. Clinical consideration and professional judgment should be applied to any drug of abuse test result, particularly when preliminary positive results are used.
