Can Trazodone Show Up As Fentanyl On A Urine Drug Test?
In our latest question and answer, our pharmacist discusses whether or not trazodone can cause a false-positive for fentanyl on a drug test.
Can taking trazodone 100mg a night, which I am prescribed, pop up as fentanyl on a urine drug screen 12-panel test? Just curious because I keep popping positive for the sober living house I'm staying in. I had it sent to the lab as I am very adamant I have not been using Fentanyl or heroin or any kind of drug like that for over a month now. Thank you for your time. Hope to hear an honest truthful answer. God bless and thank you.
Aug 10, 2022- Trazodone has been reported to cause false-positive results for fentanyl on some comprehensive urine drug screenings, though how common this occurs is not well known. If you believe you've received a false-positive result, inform your drug tester about all medications you're taking, as they may offer additional testing. More specific tests like gas chromatography-mass spectrometry can identify specific compounds and are far less likely to produce false positives.
Answer
Hi Zack and thanks for reaching out to us! I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you're having with fentanyl showing up as a 'false-positive' on your drug tests.
We've written more extensively about what drugs can cause a false positive for fentanyl, which can be found here.
The main takeaway from that article is that even though false-positive results for fentanyl are relatively uncommon compared with other opioids due to the somewhat unique molecular structure of the drug, they have been reported.
In fact, the drug you mention in your question, trazodone, has been linked to false-positive results.
Trazodone False-Positives
Trazodone has been linked to causing false-positives for several drugs, most commonly, amphetamines. One of the most widely cited journal articles on urine drug screenings, produced by the Mayo Clinic, specifically lists trazodone as well-known for causing amphetamine false-positives.
Fentanyl
As mentioned fentanyl, when compared to other opioids, isn't as likely to show up on a drug test as a false positive. Fentanyl has a distinct molecular structure and actually requires specific tests for it. It isn't included on your standard urine drug panel (SAMHSA panel).
Nevertheless, trazodone has been reported to cause false positives for fentanyl on some more comprehensive urine drug screenings, but just how common this is, isn't known.
Trazodone is listed in the documentation of several testing protocols relating to potential drugs that could cause fentanyl false-positives. One such example is on a document from North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance, which is a provider of worker's compensation insurance in North Dakota:
What To Do
If you feel you have received a false-positive result, it is important to let your drug tester know of all the medications you are taking. If a drug has been well-documented as causing false-positives, they may offer you additional tests.
Also, there are more specific drug tests out there than urine drug screenings, which can be unreliable simply based on how they work (they rely on antibody reactions). One such test that is more specific is known as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This type of test identifies specific compounds in a sample and is far less likely to produce false positives.
Final Words
Thank you again for reaching out and please feel free to do so again in the future!
References & sources
- Laboratory Testing for Prescription Opioids — PubMed
- Urine Drug Screening: Practical Guide for Clinicians — Mayo Clinic Proceedings
- False-Positive Interferences of Common Urine Drug Screen Immunoassays: A Review — Oxford Academic
- What drugs are likely to interfere with urine drug screens? — University of Illinois - Chicago
- North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance — WSI
- URINE DRUG TESTING – ORDERING AND INTERPRETATION — Michigan Opioid Collaborative
- Toxicologic Testing for Opiates: Understanding False-Positive and False-Negative Test Results — PubMed
- SAMHSA Guidelines for Drugs of Abuse Testing — ThermoFisher
Glossary — Terms in This Answer
- False-positive
- A test result that incorrectly indicates the presence of a drug when it is not actually in the person's system.
- Opioids
- A class of drugs that bind to opioid receptors in the brain and are used to relieve pain.
- Molecular structure
- The arrangement of atoms that make up a chemical compound.
- Urine drug screenings
- Tests that analyze a urine sample to detect the presence of drugs or their metabolites.
- SAMHSA panel
- A standard drug test that screens for five common drugs of abuse as defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- Antibody reactions
- Chemical interactions where proteins in the immune system bind to specific substances, used in some drug tests to detect drugs.
- Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
- A laboratory technique that separates and identifies specific chemical compounds in a sample with high precision.
- Trazodone
- A medication used to treat depression and other conditions that has been reported to cause false-positive results on some drug tests.
Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD
Doctor of Pharmacy, board certified clinical pharmacist (BCPS), American Herbalist Guild, Medication Therapy Management certified
Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS, is a licensed pharmacist with more than 13 years of experience across retail pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, medication safety, pharmacy program development, and healthcare administration. He is the founder of HelloPharmacist.com, where he helps patients...
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