What is the typical SAMHSA cutoff for PCP in the screening panel?

What is the typical SAMHSA cutoff for PCP in the screening panel?

• A. 50 ng/mL
• B. 25 ng/mL
• C. 100 ng/mL
• D. 10 ng/mL

Answer: (B)

The key idea is how screening tests decide what counts as a positive result. In the SAMHSA 5-drug panel, the PCP (phencyclidine) screening threshold is set at 25 ng/mL. This cutoff is the concentration above which a specimen is flagged as presumptively positive and sent on for a more specific confirmatory test (like GC-MS or LC-MS/MS). Setting this value involves balancing sensitivity (catching true positives) with specificity (limiting false positives from cross-reactivity or low-level exposure).

Have in mind that the other listed numbers are not the standard SAMHSA PCP screening threshold. They are either higher or lower than the established PCP cutoff and would not align with the typical screening protocol for PCP in the SAMHSA panel.