Evaluation of the efficiency of dried blood spot-based measurement of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus seromarkers
Yamamoto et al.
The finding, in our words
Dried blood spot sampling using HemaSpot or Whatman903 cards demonstrated high analytical sensitivity for hepatitis B surface antigen, core antibody and hepatitis C antibody when compared with serum, with ratios ranging from 17.6:1 to 38.9:1. HemaSpot achieved 92.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity for HBsAg detection, maintained 80% detection efficacy after one month of storage, and showed no significant degradation after two weeks at ambient temperature, confirming its suitability for decentralised hepatitis screening in resource-limited settings.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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.
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.
Ombati et al., Scientific reports (paywalled) · source ↗
The review found dried blood spot sampling correlates strongly with plasma for HIV-1 viral load and offers simplified collection, transport and storage without cold-chain. This could expand access to monitoring in resource-limited settings and improve clinical outcomes through earlier detection of treatment failure.
Self-collected dried blood spots analysed on the Roche Elecsys platform gave quantitative anti-spike antibody results that agreed closely with paired venous samples, with sensitivity 96.63% and specificity 97.81% and a conversion formula across 0.018 to 250 U/mL, enabling accurate tracking of titre changes in longitudinal cohorts after vaccination.
Castelletti et al., Microbiology spectrum · source ↗
Dried blood spot eluates showed high agreement with serum for SARS-CoV-2 IgG against Spike and Nucleocapsid (r≈0.96; qualitative φ≈0.98–1.0) and remained stable after 6–8 hours of storage, supporting use of capillary DBS for serosurveys and decentralised testing.
Guttmann et al., Biochemistry and biophysics reports · source ↗