2022 · Annals of clinical biochemistry · paywalled
Adult and neonate TSH blood spot reference intervals
Morris et al.
The finding, in our words
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.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was successfully validated for measuring androstenedione, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, and 11-ketotestosterone in dried blood samples collected via volumetric absorptive microsampling. The dried samples remained stable at room temperature for up to a week and after postal transit, and plasma concentrations could be reliably estimated from the microsamples when adjusting for haematocrit.
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.
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.
The study validated a method for measuring cystic fibrosis drugs in dried blood spots, showing statistical equivalence to plasma concentrations, which supports their use as a less invasive alternative for therapeutic drug monitoring. It also found higher drug levels in nasal swabs, indicating localised accumulation at the disease site, which could inform more personalised treatment.
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.