Urine specimens from 34 active-duty U.S. Army personnel who tested positive for amphetamines were reanalyzed. All samples contained both MDMA (ecstasy) and its metabolite MDA. MDMA concentrations ranged from 0.38 to 96.2 mg/L (mean 13.4 mg/L), and MDA concentrations ranged from 0.15 to 8.6 mg/L (mean 1.6 mg/L). The average ratio of MDA to MDMA was 0.15, similar to the ratio of amphetamine to methamphetamine (0.10). The presence of MDA at about 10–15% of the MDMA concentration is consistent with MDMA metabolism alone, suggesting use of only MDMA rather than combined use of both drugs.
MDMA and MDEA, hallucinogenic amphetamine analogs, are increasingly used recreationally, prompting evaluation of common urine drug tests. The Abbott TDx and Syva EMIT-d.a.u. amphetamine immunoassays were tested for cross-reactivity with MDMA- and MDEA-spiked urine samples. The Syva EMIT assay detected only the highest concentration (10.0 micrograms/mL) of both substances. The TDx assay showed cross-reactivity for MDMA ranging from 18% at high concentrations to 118% at low concentrations, and for MDEA from 12% to 47%. Precision for TDx was good, with coefficients of variation below 6% for MDMA. Negative EMIT but positive TDx results were confirmed by GC/MS.