Error Code 285 means a result has not been determined for all drugs within 300 seconds (5 minutes) of detection of wetting on any strip. The most likely cause of this error is either insufficient saliva was provided by the donor, or the donor has particularly “sticky saliva” that does not flow easily – this can be a natural condition, or be caused by certain medications, or can be caused by ingesting something by mouth 15 minutes prior to the sample being collected.
Unfortunately, this cartridge cannot be reused and should be disposed of in accordance with your company policy and local regulations and a retest of the donor performed.
If the cause has been insufficient saliva, the normal cause can be any of the following:
- The donor has a particularly dry mouth and has been unable to generate sufficient saliva, in which case it is possible to rehydrate them water, but you will need to wait 15 minutes before retesting.
- The donor has had something to eat or smoked in the 15 minutes prior to the test, this can cause some peoples saliva to dry-up and unable to provide the necessary amount of saliva. It’s good practice to check before collecting the sample that they have had “nothing by mouth” 15 minutes prior to collecting the sample; if they have, best practice is to wait 15 minutes before sample collection.
- The donor did not generate enough saliva during the 60 second sample collection time or the full sample collection time was not allowed. Following the user guide instructions of how to collect a sample.
- The donor did generate enough sample but “sucked the sponge dry” when removing it from the mouth. This is not uncommon in saliva collection techniques, people fear dribbling when removing the collector – good practice is to instruct the donor not to suck on the sponge as they remove it, and not to squeeze it with their teeth as it is removed.
- If the cause is “sticky saliva” via natural causes or medication, attempt to rehydrate the donor with a water and wait 15 minutes before retaking the sample.
Before attempting the retest, explain the sample collection process to the donor, what they are expected to do, and what not to do e.g. don’t worry about dribbles, don’t suck the sponge dry on removal from the mouth, and do not drag the sponge across or between teeth on extraction.
Good practice when inserting the collector in to the test cartridge is to see a small amount of saliva pooling around the edges as it is pressed down.
Typically, it is not possible to have too much saliva on the sponge.
Good practice is to ensure the instrument is as horizontal as possible to assist in the flow of saliva from one end of the strip to the other.
For further information refer to the user manual or contact Alcolizer Service on 1300 789 908.
