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 2025 review maps 28 microsampling devices, from dried spots and volumetric absorptive tips to upper-arm liquid capillary collectors, and names what a laboratory must control before their results are used: the haematocrit effect in non-volumetric dried samples, interstitial fluid from finger milking, volume, haemolysis and transport stability. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic ask for the same two things, a device the patient can use safely and a sample fit for the test.
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.
Bornikowska et al., Practical laboratory medicine · source ↗
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.
Olthof et al., Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine (paywalled) · source ↗
The study validated an LC-MS/MS method for eight antiepileptic drugs and two metabolites in dried blood spot and VAMS formats, with satisfactory analytical performance and stability, and was the first to include the oxcarbazepine metabolite DHCB. In 80 paired patient samples, microsampling concentrations showed promising correlation with plasma, supporting decentralised therapeutic drug monitoring of antiepileptic treatment.
Cobo-Golpe et al., Journal of analytical toxicology · source ↗