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Using umbilical cord tissue to detect fetal exposure to illicit drugs: a multicentered study in Utah and New Jersey

Journal of Perinatology volume 28, pages 750–753 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

We assessed umbilical cord tissue as a means of detecting fetal exposure to five classes of drugs of abuse.

Study Design:

In a multicentered study in Utah and New Jersey, we collected umbilical cord tissue when high-risk criteria were met for maternal illicit drug use. The deidentified umbilical cord specimens were analyzed for five drug classes: methamphetamine, opiates, cocaine, cannabinoids and phencyclidine. For each umbilical cord specimen, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based screening test was compared with a ‘gold standard’ test, consisting of gas or liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Result:

A total of 498 umbilical cord samples were analyzed of which 157 (32%) were positive using mass spectrometric detection. The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA-based test for each class of drugs tested were as follows: methamphetamine 97 and 97%, opiates 90 and 98%, cocaine 90 and 100%, cannabinoids 96 and 98% and phencyclidine (only 1 of the 498 umbilical cord sample was positive for phencyclidine) 100 and 100%.

Conclusion:

We judge that the performances of the ELISA-based tests are sufficient for clinical testing of fetal exposure to methamphetamine, opiates, cocaine and cannabinoids. Studies obtained on umbilical cord tissue can result in a more rapid return to the clinician than meconium testing, because waiting for meconium to be passed sometimes requires many days. Moreover, in some cases the meconium is passed in utero making collection impossible, whereas umbilical cord tissue should always be available for drug testing.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the nurses of the Labor and Delivery Units and the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Logan Regional, McKay-Dee, LDS and University Hospital, UMDNJ, for their valuable assistance in collecting the umbilical cord specimens for this study. This work was supported by grant 2 R44 DA017412-02A1 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Women and Newborns, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    D P Montgomery, D K Lambert, N Schumtz, S E Wiedmeier, J Burnett, C A Durham & R D Christensen

  2. McKay-Dee Hospital Center, Ogden, UT, USA

    D P Montgomery, D K Lambert, N Schumtz & R D Christensen

  3. United States Drug Testing Laboratories, Des Plaines, IL, USA

    C A Plate, M Jones, J Jones & R Rios

  4. LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City Utah,

    S E Wiedmeier & J Burnett

  5. Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, UT, USA

    S E Wiedmeier

  6. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    S E Wiedmeier

  7. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA

    S Ail, D Brandel & G Maichuck

  8. Logan Regional Hospital, Logan, UT, USA

    C A Durham

  9. The Institute for Healthcare Delivery Research, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    E Henry

Authors
  1. D P Montgomery
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  2. C A Plate
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  3. M Jones
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  4. J Jones
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  5. R Rios
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  6. D K Lambert
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  7. N Schumtz
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  8. S E Wiedmeier
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  9. J Burnett
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  10. S Ail
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  11. D Brandel
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  12. G Maichuck
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  13. C A Durham
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  14. E Henry
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  15. R D Christensen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R D Christensen.

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Montgomery, D., Plate, C., Jones, M. et al. Using umbilical cord tissue to detect fetal exposure to illicit drugs: a multicentered study in Utah and New Jersey. J Perinatol 28, 750–753 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2008.97

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2008.97

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