2023 · Journal of immunological methods · paywalled
Comparison of capillary blood self-collection using the Tasso-SST device with venous phlebotomy for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody measurement
King et al.
The finding, in our words
In 26 participants, capillary self-collection with Tasso-SST showed no qualitative discrepancies from venous phlebotomy for SARS-CoV-2 antibody results, and quantitative levels correlated strongly, total Ig Spearman rho 0.72 and IgG 0.85; within the limits of so small a study, this supports at-home collection for serosurveillance.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Capillary blood samples collected by staff or self-collected by participants showed strong correlation and clinically acceptable agreement with venipuncture for influenza haemagglutination inhibition titers. The small differences observed were not clinically meaningful, and adequate sample volume was achieved in most attempts, supporting the feasibility of decentralised serological testing.
This study found strong concordance between capillary samples collected via the Tasso device and standard venous draws for VirScan serology, indicating that self-collected samples are a practical alternative for decentralised research. The authors advise against interchanging these collection methods within a single longitudinal study to avoid introducing technical variability.
In a cohort of 62 participants evaluating home self-collection with the TassoPlus device, 38 returned samples, with 29% excluded due to insufficient plasma volume below 200 ΔL. Although viral load measurements in adequate samples correlated well with conventional testing (r = 0.800), the high failure rate and missed detection in low-volume viremic samples indicate that further technical refinements are necessary before clinical adoption.
A study of decentralised patient-centric microsampling found that 82% of untrained participants, 47 of 57, successfully self-collected acceptable fingerstick blood in Microtainer tubes. All 46 tested samples yielded accurate HIV viral suppression results compared to venipuncture, though this remote monitoring approach is limited to US courier services and temperature conditions.
In 30 adult solid organ transplant recipients, capillary blood self-collected using the Tasso+ device showed 91% concordance with venous samples for detecting CMV DNAemia above the limit of detection, with excellent quantitative correlation (Spearman R² = 0.99). Most participants preferred self-collection over venipuncture, suggesting the device could enable decentralised viral monitoring, though sensitivity was lower (95% at 308 IU/mL).