2026 · Drug and alcohol dependence reports · open access
Reference values for the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in the Belgian population: Insights from a nationwide microsampling study
Vandenbroucke et al.
The finding, in our words
PEth reference values for Belgium were derived from VAMS microsampling of 487 participants in a national survey, showing distinct biomarker distributions between the general population and higher‑alcohol‑consumption subgroups. This validates capillary blood collection as a practical method for decentralised alcohol monitoring and forensic assessment.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Capillary blood collected by volumetric absorptive microsampling gave a shorter detection window than urine for a stimulant, helping to distinguish recent from earlier use, and more reliable detection of long-acting diuretics that bind red cells. This shows microsampling can improve interpretation in drug-monitoring programmes where urinary data alone may be ambiguous.
In a nationwide survey of 1047 Belgian adults, at-home VAMS achieved a 63% participation-to-analysis completion rate with 16% of samples excluded due to insufficient quality. While dietary intake suggested adequate thiamine consumption, 11% of participants had blood thiamine diphosphate concentrations below the reference threshold, showing the utility of remote microsampling for identifying true nutritional status.
This study validated a method for measuring the alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol using two volumetric absorptive microsampling devices, finding that the Mitra device met all validation criteria and agreed with venous sampling. The Capitainer device was deemed suitable but showed reduced accuracy at higher concentrations, with a small proportional negative bias compared to venous results.
A validated offline SPE-LC-MS/MS method using the Mitra microsampling device successfully quantified tacrolimus, cyclosporine A, tryptophan, kynurenine, and creatinine simultaneously. The method met EMA and FDA criteria, showing agreement between capillary and venous sampling, which could facilitate decentralised therapeutic drug monitoring and transplant follow-up through patient self-collection.
In 41 Black adults with heart failure, elevated xanthine oxidase activity from capillary blood collected with Mitra microsampling associated significantly with dyspnoea severity. This demonstrates that microsampling can capture clinically relevant inflammatory biomarkers linked to symptom burden in underserved populations, supporting its use in decentralised cardiovascular monitoring.