2026 · Practical laboratory medicine · open access
Adaptation of a routine immunoassay analyser for TSH measurement in dried blood spot and volumetric microsampling (Capitainer B50): evaluation for thyroid function testing in adults
Bornikowska et al.
The finding, in our words
This study found that measuring thyroid-stimulating hormone via dried blood spots and a volumetric device showed high agreement with serum results, with classification accuracy exceeding 96 per cent. The volumetric approach demonstrated improved reproducibility and stability, supporting its use for decentralised thyroid function monitoring.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Home DBS sampling gave testosterone results that agreed well with venous blood in men on intramuscular testosterone undecanoate, but showed falsely high values in those using topical gel, likely from skin contamination. Patients preferred home collection for its convenience, suggesting DBS is viable for decentralised monitoring of injectable testosterone if patients are taught proper technique.
Validated on 40 adults, leptin measured from finger-prick dried blood spots agreed closely with matched serum and stayed stable at ambient and raised temperatures for 72 hours; the authors present it as a route into groups such as children that venepuncture has kept out of leptin research.
This study found that dried blood spot samples stored at room temperature for four years correlated highly with serum measurements for testosterone and androstenedione, indicating that hematocrit adjustment may be unnecessary for serial monitoring in home-based self-sampling.
Capillary finger-stick dried blood spots yielded TSH measurements that agreed strongly with venous plasma (R² 0.988) and correctly identified hypothyroidism and hypothyrotropinemia in most cases. The analyte remained stable for at least four days between -20°C and +30°C, indicating potential for at-home collection in thyroid diagnostics and monitoring.
The study established reference intervals for TSH in dried blood spots for both adults and neonates and defined a quantitative relationship between DBS and serum TSH levels. This allows DBS to be used as a viable, patient-centric alternative to venepuncture for thyroid function monitoring, particularly where venous sampling is difficult.