2023 · Drug and alcohol dependence reports · paywalled
Feasibility of remotely assessing hormonal contraceptive use and smoking-related symptomatology: Evidence from a preliminary prospective cohort study
Medvescek & Allen
The finding, in our words
A remote protocol combining daily surveys with weekly self-collected dried blood spots achieved a 92% study completion rate and high acceptability among reproductive-age women smokers, with 87% of participants collecting most samples and the same proportion extremely willing to repeat the study. This feasibility demonstrates that decentralised microsampling can support longitudinal research on hormonal contraceptive effects and smoking behaviour.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
In a study of 46 perinatal nicotine users, dried blood spots and saliva were used weekly to measure reproductive hormones, finding that lower postpartum estradiol and greater peripartum declines in oxytocin were associated with increased nicotine craving and use. This demonstrates the feasibility of decentralised microsampling and remote surveys for longitudinal hormone tracking in vulnerable populations.
Home DBS sampling gave testosterone results that agreed well with venous blood in men on intramuscular testosterone undecanoate, but showed falsely high values in those using topical gel, likely from skin contamination. Patients preferred home collection for its convenience, suggesting DBS is viable for decentralised monitoring of injectable testosterone if patients are taught proper technique.
Young female cancer survivors aged 18 to 44 can successfully self-collect dried blood spot samples at home, with 91% submitting specimens adequate for AMH assay. This demonstrates feasibility of patient-centric, decentralised monitoring of ovarian reserve in geographically dispersed populations, though generalisability may be limited to highly educated, higher-income groups.
The study found that although participants preferred patient-centric microsampling devices for home use, the agreement with venous plasma for measuring CRP and cytokines was inconsistent, indicating that further validation is required before these methods replace standard venipuncture.
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.