Volumetric absorptive microsampling and dried blood spot microsampling vs. conventional venous sampling for tacrolimus trough concentration monitoring

In matched clinical samples from rheumatoid arthritis, VAMS and DBS showed strong agreement for methotrexate polyglutamates (slopes 0.95-1.07; bias within -4.21% to 0.36%; SRCC ≥ 0.969), with up to 100% of total MTXPG results within ±20% limits; capillary microsampling agreed closely with whole blood but differed from red blood cells, indicating matrix-specific differences that must be accounted for when interpreting against RBC-based reference values.

Multi-Matrix LC-MS/MS Validation of Methotrexate Polyglutamates: Comparison of VAMS, DBS, and Conventional Blood Sampling in Rheumatoid Arthritis — Kocur et al., International journal of molecular sciences · source ↗

• vams
• venous-agreement
• neoteryx-mitra
• blood
• dbs
• tdm
• dried
• capillary
• immunosuppressants
• validation

In adult kidney transplant patients, fingerprick VAMS and dried blood spot microsampling achieved accurate simultaneous measurement of tacrolimus, mycophenolic acid, and prednisolone compared with venepuncture. The authors noted an overall preference for VAMS over conventional dried blood spots.

Fingerprick Microsampling Methods Can Replace Venepuncture for Simultaneous Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Tacrolimus, Mycophenolic Acid, and Prednisolone Concentrations in Adult Kidney Transplant Patients — Scuderi et al., Therapeutic drug monitoring (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• capillary
• vams
• dbs
• neoteryx-mitra
• validation
• venous-agreement
• tdm
• immunosuppressants

Clinical validation for tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid monitoring showed that while volumetric absorptive microsampling met analytical criteria after concentration correction, conventional dried blood spots achieved superior adherence to strict clinical criteria, sample quality, and cost efficiency without significant haematocrit bias.

Comparison of conventional dried blood spots and volumetric absorptive microsampling for tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid determination — Paniagua-González et al., Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• capillary
• vams
• dbs
• neoteryx-mitra
• self-collection
• validation
• venous-agreement
• tdm
• immunosuppressants
• economics
• haematocrit

LC-MS/MS assay validation for monitoring tacrolimus and creatinine in renal transplant patients demonstrated that volumetric absorptive microsampling is the preferred single-sampling approach compared to traditional dried blood spots and venous sampling.

Analytical and clinical validation of dried blood spot and volumetric absorptive microsampling for measurement of tacrolimus and creatinine after renal transplantation — Mathew et al., Clinical biochemistry (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• vams
• dbs
• neoteryx-mitra
• validation
• venous-agreement
• tdm
• immunosuppressants

In lung and renal transplant recipients, VAMS sampling with LC-MS/MS quantification of mycophenolic acid and tacrolimus showed good linearity and accuracy, and with a haematocrit-adjusted conversion formula achieved clinical agreement in most samples; tacrolimus did not require haematocrit correction. The approach is virtually painless and enables richer sampling for more accurate drug exposure estimates, supporting decentralised therapeutic drug monitoring.

Evaluation of hematocrit-adjusted conversion strategies for mycophenolic acid and tacrolimus monitoring using volumetric absorptive microsampling in lung and renal transplant recipients — Juan et al., Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• vams
• neoteryx-mitra
• validation
• venous-agreement
• tdm
• immunosuppressants
• haematocrit