Comprehensive at-home sexually transmitted and blood borne infection (STBBI) testing program: A pilot study

Among 92 patients on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, 79.3 per cent returned home-collected kits comprising dried blood spots, urine, and oropharyngeal swabs. Nearly 87.7 per cent were extremely to moderately satisfied with avoiding clinic visits, and mean turnaround fell from 17 to 5 days, showing self-collection is a feasible, patient-centric model for decentralised sexual health and SARS-CoV-2 screening.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Home-Collected Samples for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Preexposure Prophylaxis and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Laboratory Tests in San Francisco Primary Care Clinics — Saberi et al., Open forum infectious diseases · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

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 found that DBS testing showed high specificity for HIV, HBV and HCV and perfect sensitivity for HIV and HBV, but lower sensitivity for syphilis and HCV, with creatinine measurements slightly higher than venous samples. Despite challenges in sample adequacy, DBS was acceptable to participants and could support decentralised STI and renal monitoring in men who have sex with men.

Use of Home-Based Self-Collected Dried Blood Spots to Test for Syphilis, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis C and B Virus Infections and Measuring Creatinine Concentration — Nieuwenburg et al., Sexually transmitted diseases · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• venous-agreement
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

Dried blood spot testing achieved high acceptability among Métis community members in a culturally tailored pilot. Participants valued the ease of self-collection, the reduction of logistical barriers and stigma through event-based delivery, and the provision of Métis-specific services, suggesting that community-centred microsampling can expand HIV and sexually transmitted infection screening in decentralised diagnostics.

Assessing the acceptability of dried blood spot testing for HIV and STBBI among Métis people in a community driven pilot project in Alberta, Canada — Landy et al., BMC health services research · source ↗

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

Most men who have sex with men could self-administer HIV rapid tests and correctly interpret results, but 27% of dried blood spot cards were of poor quality and interpretation was difficult when control lines were absent, suggesting instructions need refinement before decentralised deployment.

Pilot Evaluation of the Ability of Men Who Have Sex with Men to Self-Administer Rapid HIV Tests, Prepare Dried Blood Spot Cards, and Interpret Test Results, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013 — MacGowan et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled) · source ↗

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