Drug and Alcohol Testing Q&A - 2006

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Re: False-positive opiate screening tests

From: Robert Swotinsky MD
Date: 25 Jan 2006
Time: 16:44:05 -0800
Remote Name: 68.166.233.34

Comments

Tramadol is an opioid, i.e., a synthetic product that has psychoactive effects through its actions on opiate receptors.  The chemical structure of tramadol (on the left below) differs significantly from that of morphine (on the right below).  Since opiate immunoassays designed for codeine/morphine detection are targeted toward free morphine, and the chemical structures are so different, it is unlikely that tramadol would cross-react with an opiate immunoassay.

                               tramadol                                                  morphine