Assessment of HIV viral load monitoring in remote settings in Vietnam - comparing people who inject drugs to the other patients

The study found that self-collection of dried blood spots and other samples using at-home kits was a useful and cost-effective method for screening a large cohort for sexually transmitted infections outside a clinic. This demonstrates the feasibility of decentralised, patient-centric sampling for population-level infectious disease surveillance.

Prevalence of chlamydial, gonococcal and syphilis positivity by anatomical site and sex via self-collected biospecimens using at-home testing kits among a large and diverse cohort of men and women enrolled in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) in the USA — Mimiaga et al., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• sti
• dbs
• self-collection
• dried
• serology
• bd-microtainer
• urine

The study validated a semi-quantitative protocol for Epstein-Barr virus serology using dried blood spots, demonstrating 98.8% sensitivity and 96.5% specificity compared to paired venous serum samples. The successful validation in a self-sampling cohort confirms the suitability of this patient-centric microsampling approach for large-scale seroprevalence studies and decentralised trials.

A dried blood spot protocol for high-throughput semi-quantitative analysis of Epstein-Barr Virus VCA IgG and EBNA IgG serologies based on the Roche Elecsys system — Rubio-Acero et al., Virology journal · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• capillary
• dbs
• self-collection
• validation
• venous-agreement
• serology

Dried blood spot sampling achieved high agreement with serum for anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibody detection, supporting its use in decentralised settings; however, samples collected on Cobas Plasma Separation Cards showed lower antibody index values than serum and Whatman cards, which may reduce sensitivity in low-titre specimens.

Comparison of Cobas Plasma Separation Cards and Whatman filter paper cards versus conventional serum samples for anti-Trypansoma cruzi antibody detection — Silgado et al., PLoS neglected tropical diseases (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• venous-agreement
• serology

In a pilot mixed-methods study of youth with HIV, mailed HemaSpot-HF kits enabled home-based dried blood spot collection that participants found feasible and acceptable, supporting remote viral load monitoring and a self-management model for decentralised care.

An Examination of Perceptions and Usage of Dried Blood Spot Biosampling Technology for HIV Viral Load Collection Among Youth with HIV — Gurung et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• dct
• serology

Capillary samples collected using dried blood spots and Mitra microsamplers showed strong agreement with venous plasma for quantifying IgG antibodies against most vaccine-preventable diseases. Sensitivity was high for the majority of pathogens, though the study noted that antibody stability declined at room temperature over time, favouring cold storage for longer durations.

Comparison of capillary microsampling and venous blood for multi-pathogen serosurveillance — Ombati et al., Scientific reports (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• capillary
• vams
• dbs
• neoteryx-mitra
• validation
• venous-agreement
• serology