Eye Findings Following Congenital Cytomegalovirus Newborn Screening
Leahy et al.
The finding, in our words
In a population newborn screening programme using dried blood spots, eye abnormalities attributable to congenital cytomegalovirus were found in only 0.58% of positive infants and were entirely absent in asymptomatic cases. This indicates that universal ophthalmic examination for all screen-detected infants is not routinely necessary and supports targeted referrals for symptomatic cases.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
This review establishes that microsampling across blood, saliva, urine and stool matrices offers validated workflows and regulatory recognition for human biomonitoring comparable to conventional methods. It finds that these decentralised approaches enhance participant acceptability and enable screening in remote or low-resource settings.
Among 1242 asymptomatic children in a remote Congolese district, dried blood spot sampling identified 53% as Plasmodium falciparum-positive. No validated artemisinin-resistance mutations were found, but a lumefantrine-susceptibility marker was present in 15% of samples, demonstrating that community-based microsampling can generate actionable resistance surveillance data to guide decentralised malaria treatment strategies.
Luzolo Khote et al., Malaria journal (paywalled) · source ↗
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.
The study found low SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in unvaccinated children and young adults in British Columbia, with higher rates in South Asian participants and young infants. Many infections were undetected, highlighting the value of patient-centric microsampling for more accurate, decentralised surveillance.
Silverberg et al., BMC infectious diseases · source ↗
A statewide remote seroprevalence study using at-home dried blood spot kits achieved a 71.6% sample return rate from registered households, with success dependent on integrated data systems, responsive participant support, and strong health department partnerships. This demonstrates feasibility of large-scale decentralised microsampling for public health surveillance.
Lim et al., BMC medical research methodology · source ↗