Screening for HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis on dried blood spots: A promising method to better reach hidden high-risk populations with self-collected sampling

The study found that DBS testing showed high specificity for HIV, HBV and HCV and perfect sensitivity for HIV and HBV, but lower sensitivity for syphilis and HCV, with creatinine measurements slightly higher than venous samples. Despite challenges in sample adequacy, DBS was acceptable to participants and could support decentralised STI and renal monitoring in men who have sex with men.

Use of Home-Based Self-Collected Dried Blood Spots to Test for Syphilis, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis C and B Virus Infections and Measuring Creatinine Concentration — Nieuwenburg et al., Sexually transmitted diseases · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• venous-agreement
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

Among 154 volunteers, 85% found HemaSpot HF self-sampling acceptable, but correlation with venous blood for anti-tetanus toxin IgG was moderate (r = 0.73) and sensitivity varied from 70% to 100% depending on the cut-off value, with concentration differences widening at higher IgG levels. The device requires further improvement before it can reliably replace venous puncture for decentralised serological testing.

Feasibility of blood self-sampling with HemaSpot HF for Anti-Clostridium tetani Toxin IgG detection — Kettlitz et al., Scientific reports · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• venous-agreement
• acceptability
• serology

Dried blood spot testing achieved high acceptability among Métis community members in a culturally tailored pilot. Participants valued the ease of self-collection, the reduction of logistical barriers and stigma through event-based delivery, and the provision of Métis-specific services, suggesting that community-centred microsampling can expand HIV and sexually transmitted infection screening in decentralised diagnostics.

Assessing the acceptability of dried blood spot testing for HIV and STBBI among Métis people in a community driven pilot project in Alberta, Canada — Landy et al., BMC health services research · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

In a Ugandan cohort, 96% of participants successfully collected at least 16 of 24 requested at-home dried blood spots, with strong correlation (R=0.93) between parasite RNA detected in self-collected spots and venous blood. The method was well tolerated, indicating self-collected DBS can reliably support decentralised malaria surveillance in endemic settings.

Feasibility of community at-home dried blood spot collection combined with pooled reverse transcription PCR as a viable and convenient method for malaria epidemiology studies — Hergott et al., Malaria journal · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• venous-agreement
• acceptability
• pediatric
• serology

Among 92 patients on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, 79.3 per cent returned home-collected kits comprising dried blood spots, urine, and oropharyngeal swabs. Nearly 87.7 per cent were extremely to moderately satisfied with avoiding clinic visits, and mean turnaround fell from 17 to 5 days, showing self-collection is a feasible, patient-centric model for decentralised sexual health and SARS-CoV-2 screening.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Home-Collected Samples for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Preexposure Prophylaxis and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Laboratory Tests in San Francisco Primary Care Clinics — Saberi et al., Open forum infectious diseases · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti