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Measurement properties of quantitative urine benzoylecgonine in clinical trials research
Author(s) -
DELUCCHI KEVIN L.,
JONES REESE T.,
BATKI STEVEN L.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1997.tb03199.x
Subject(s) - benzoylecgonine , drug , metabolite , urine , substance abuse , pharmacology , medicine , psychology , psychiatry
Psychometric data are presented which examine the validity of using the concentration of benzoylecgonine in urine, a major metabolite of cocaine, as a measure of drug use, in studies of drug abuse treatments. In such research the standard biological indicator of drug use is usually a qualitative urine drug test, which merely indicates the presence or absence of a drug or its metabolite. A quantitative (i.e. continuous) outcome measure, such as the concentration of a drug or its metabolite in a biological fluid, has substantially more statistical power than a dichotomous measure and should, therefore, prove a more sensitive measure of drug use when viewed from a measurement perspective. Data from two placebo‐controlled clinical trials of fluoxetine as an adjunct to treatment for cocaine abuse are analyzed to address this issue. Results indicate that urine benzoylecgonine level is closely related to self‐reports of drug use and is independent of levels of anxiety, depression and hopelessness.