ArticleDrug testing and analysis2025
Evaluation of Therapeutic Opioids in Hair of Neonatal and Pediatric Patients.
Article in Drug testing and analysis, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evaluation of Therapeutic Opioids in Skin-Derived Matrices (Sweat and Sebum) of Neonatal and Pediatric Patients and Their Role in Opioid Incorporation Into Hair.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Therapeutic Opioids in Hair of Neonatal and Pediatric Patients.Drug testing and analysis · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Forensic hair analysis poses a valuable tool for assessing opioid exposure in children and neonates. However, reliable literature data on opioid concentrations in the hair of this population are mostly scarce, making the interpretation of such hair analysis results rather challenging. This noninterventional study aims to address this issue by investigating 118 hair samples of pediatric patients (median age: 50 days) from the University Children's Hospital Zurich. These patients were treated with medically approved novel synthetic opioids (fentanyl, remifentanil, sufentanil, or alfentanil) and traditional opioids (morphine, methadone, and hydromorphone) during their clinical treatment. Quantification of the opioids and selected metabolites was achieved by a previously validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) based method, which showed good sensitivity with lower limits of quantification (LLOQs) ranging from 0.1 to 1 pg/mg hair. Most analytes were successfully detected in patients' hair, with the majority being identified for the first time in this matrix. Significant correlations were found between the opioid concentrations in hair and the administered medication doses, indicating that hair analysis may reflect the extent of opioid exposure in this population. Furthermore, metabolite ratios similar to the ones commonly found in adult hair were identified, which are forensically important to differentiate between active intake of a drug and contamination. The metabolite ratio of β-hydroxyfentanyl to fentanyl was particularly well suited for children and neonatal patients. In conclusion, concentration ranges, metabolite ratios, and dose correlations of the studied opioids in pediatric hair were established, providing insights into opioid incorporation pathways.
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