Neonatal Capillary Blood Sampling Procedure: A Scoping Review
Douglas et al.
The finding, in our words
Neonatal capillary blood sampling procedures are reported inconsistently, with pain and sample quality as primary outcomes. Inconsistent reporting of decontamination, supportive care, and device use impedes best-practice development and should be prioritised in future research to support decentralised diagnostics.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Frequent dried blood spot sampling detected early changes in beta-cell function more effectively than mixed-meal tolerance tests or urine ratios, supporting its potential as a decentralised monitoring tool for clinical trials.
Dunseath et al., Diabetes care (paywalled) · source ↗
Fingerstick capillary sampling showed strong agreement with venous sampling for mycophenolic acid, tacrolimus and cyclosporine A, with acceptable bias and improved agreement for mycophenolic acid after haematocrit correction. This minimally invasive approach may reduce procedural burden and support outpatient or home based therapeutic drug monitoring in children.
This study validated a method requiring only 10 microlitres of serum and found high agreement between fingerstick capillary samples and venous serum for monitoring twelve antibiotics. The results suggest capillary serum sampling is a feasible, minimally invasive alternative that avoids the haematocrit effect associated with whole blood microsampling.
The study developed and validated a rapid LC-MS/MS method for quantifying cefazolin in capillary whole blood collected via VAMS, plasma, and plasma ultrafiltrate, showing robust performance across matrices and successful application in a pediatric pilot cohort for therapeutic drug monitoring.
Kocur et al., Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry (paywalled) · source ↗
Using quantitative dried blood spot microsampling from 72 neonates, the authors developed a population pharmacokinetic model for ceftazidime that identified postmenstrual age and body weight as significant covariates influencing drug clearance and volume of distribution. Monte Carlo simulations supported dosing regimens of 25 mg/kg every 6-8 hours or 75 mg/kg every 12 hours for neonates 32-42 weeks postmenstrual age, demonstrating feasibility of decentralised therapeutic drug monitoring in vulnerable paediatric populations.
Yin et al., Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · source ↗