[Ayr, ON] – Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever used in the treatment of severe pain and is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, with a shorter duration of action. It is prescribed in both tablet and transdermal patch forms, but can be obtained illegally through internet delivery in powder form as well. Fentanyl has a high risk for misuse, addiction and abuse. Fentanyl use in safety sensitive positions can be extremely dangerous.

DriverCheck strives to be the leading provider of workplace fitness for duty testing in Canada. As fentanyl usage has exploded across the country, DriverCheck is pleased to announce the expanded testing capabilities, which now includes fentanyl.

The potential for overdose with fentanyl is exceptionally high and increasing throughout Canada. Fentanyl can be found in heroin and in cocaine, which both increase the risks of overdose in an unsuspecting person. Opioid use can result in errors in judgment, memory loss, poor coordination and significant sedation – all of which can be unsafe for the employee as well as other colleagues and the community. Withdrawals that occur after use of opioids can be impairing and have an impact on the employee’s ability to work safely.

DriverCheck and our lab partners offer two convenient ways to test for fentanyl in urine:

• Laboratory based screening is performed by immunoassay at a cut-off threshold of 2 ng/mL. All non-negative specimens are confirmed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) yielding quantitative results at a cut-off threshold of 1 ng/mL. Confirmation testing includes fentanyl and metabolites norfentanyl, sufentanil and norsufentanil.

• Urine point of care devices are available to detect the presence of norfentanyl at a cut-off threshold of 20 ng/mL in urine. DriverCheck offers quantitative confirmation testing by LC/MS/MS at a cut-off threshold of 1 ng/mL to confirm non-negative results.