Performance and feasibility of self-microsampling of capillary blood and saliva for serological testing of SARS-CoV-2
Morales et al.
The finding, in our words
Capillary blood self-collected with the VAMS device showed 100 per cent agreement with serum for detecting SARS-CoV-2 S RBD antibodies in participants with known past infection, and saliva showed slightly lower but high agreement; agreement was good to almost perfect in those without known antibodies, and most participants found finger prick easy while half found the microsampler easy, supporting decentralised serosurveillance.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Capillary blood self-sampling achieved 98.3% agreement with venous samples for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies and 100% for IgA among 60 participants, demonstrating accuracy for vaccine monitoring. Saliva self-collection proved feasible with excellent usability, offering a patient-centric alternative for decentralised immunogenicity assessment.
At-home volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) for anti-seizure medicines was feasible and reliable, with strong correlations to clinic VAMS and low bias for lacosamide, lamotrigine and levetiracetam; quantitative dried blood spot (qDBS) was a reliable alternative in the ambulatory setting, though older age reduced sampling quality.
In a cohort of 62 participants evaluating home self-collection with the TassoPlus device, 38 returned samples, with 29% excluded due to insufficient plasma volume below 200 ΔL. Although viral load measurements in adequate samples correlated well with conventional testing (r = 0.800), the high failure rate and missed detection in low-volume viremic samples indicate that further technical refinements are necessary before clinical adoption.
The study found very strong correlation between venous blood collection and capillary VAMS using Mitra devices for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies, with samples remaining stable at room temperature for several months. This enables reliable at-home, patient-centric serological testing for large-scale community surveillance and vaccine studies.
This study established conversion methods for estimating plasma concentrations from whole blood VAMS samples for seven out of ten oral anticancer drugs, finding good agreement between capillary and venous samples. Patients reported a positive experience with home sampling using this microsampling technique.