EDDP Specific Urine HEIA

Specialty Diagnostix presents a new specific homogeneous enzyme immunoassay for the detection of the Methadone Metabolite EDDP in urine. This EDDP specific urine assay is a sensitive and reliable method to monitor patient compliance in opiate withdrawal programs.

• Highly sensitive and specific method to detect EDDP in human urine samples
• Three distinct cut-offs – 100 ng/mL, 300 ng/mL & 1000 ng/mL for qualitative and 100 ng/mL & 300 ng/mL for semi-quantitative analysis
• Liquid, stable, ready-to-use reagents, calibrators and controls – no reconstitution required
• Application protocols available for all major clinical chemistry analyzers
• Packaging tailored to your laboratory’s specific needs

Methadone is a synthetic compound that was originally developed in World War II as an alternative to morphine, which was in short supply. Its pharmacological properties are similar to heroin and morphine, but with stable dosing it causes neither euphoria nor intoxication. Experience has proved that methadone maintenance is quite effective in the treatment of opioid addiction.

Monitoring for methadone compliance by means of methadone immunoassays has some disadvantages. The most important of those is probably the fact that methadone renal clearance is dependent on urinary pH. An alkaline urine pH > 7 may reduce renal clearance of unmetabolized methadone considerably. Thus, a urine specimen may not contain enough methadone to yield a positive drug screen. Since a negative test result implies non-compliance, a patient enrolled in a methadone substitution program would be in serious trouble. The renal clearance of EDDP (2-Ethylidin-1,5-Dimethyl-3,3-Diphenyl-Pyrolidine), the primary Methadone Metabolite, on the other hand, remains unaffected by an alkaline urine. Thus, testing for EDDP provides positive evidence of the patient’s compliance.

If a patient tries to fake compliance by spiking his own urine with a small amount of methadone to cause a positive result for a Methadone screening, testing for EDDP is proof positive that the patient has not, in fact, ingested the drug. Moreover, testing for EDDP will also detect those that actually take their methadone dose but try to hide co-consumption of other drugs by presenting someone else’s urine sample spiked with a small amount of methadone.

EDDP immunoassay detection may be used to either complement or replace the screening for methadone. The new EDDP Specific Urine Assay will not only make compliance testing easier, it will also help to rule out possible tampering with urine samples.