Update: Positive Feedback on the Cotinine Confirmation Algorithm Performance

In early 2005, Heritage Labs discovered that there was a small, but very vocal group of applicants that tested positive for cotinine but claimed not to use tobacco products. Responding to this discovery, they analyzed the specimens from this group of applicants by GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry), which revealed that a fraction of these applicants were negative for cotinine. These were some of the first validated examples of false-positive results obtained by the screening assay, a historically sensitive and specific test. Take note: no test, regardless of its nature, is 100% sensitive and specific, yielding no false positive or false negatives.

https://www.heritagelabs.net/NewsletterPDF/eEnvoy_March%20_2010.pdf