A number of child health experts are attempting to steer parents away from home drug testing kits for their children and toward professional intervention if they suspect a child may have a drug use problem, U.S. News & World Report posted Aug. 6 on its online U.S. News Health section.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2007 issued a statement opposing any home- and school-based drug testing efforts until more research into their effectiveness is conducted. The U.S. News posting lists seven reasons why child health experts say drug testing should be left to professionals; atop the list are concerns that use of home tests will delay the pursuit of professional help, and worries about the reliability of test results (both because of numerous ways for youths to beat the test and the possibility of false positives caused by other medications or poppy seeds).

"My clinical experience tells me that parents are fooled all the time," said Sharon Levy, M.D., a pediatrician and director of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program at Children's Hospital Boston. Levy said she never recommends that parents uses the tests because the results can be misleading and because their use has not been shown to deter drug-using behavior in general.

The posting states that a surge in the number of testing kits on the market has made it difficult for parents to resist their use. But it relates the story of one family that says it now regrets using the tests. The parents of Indianapolis teenager David Manlove acquired a testing kit over the Internet and believed the tests were showing that their son was reducing his drug use. Instead, the teen had switched to other substances that the tests couldn't detect; he eventually went into treatment but later died after using inhalants with his friends.

"If we had sought professional help earlier, I think we would have had a better chance of preventing this outcome," said David's father, Kim Manlove.