Cocaine testing in fitness-to-drive assessments: comparison between hair analysis, urinalysis and self-reports

Introduction: Cocaine is one of the most commonly used illicit substance and may have a devastating impact on road safety. The detection of cocaine use is therefore of great significance in assessing fitnessto-drive. The aim of this study is to compare anamnestic declaration of cocaine use with the results of immunoassays in urine and the results of hair analysis in the fitness-to-drive assessment procedure used in Switzerland. We hypothesised that hair analysis will detect a higher number of clandestine cocaine users than urinalysis. Material and methods: Anamnestic declarations as well as the results of urinalysis and hair analysis were collected from fitness-to-drive reports. Urinalysis was performed with an immunoassay. Hair samples were analysed using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS).