The Library

1530 papers on microsampling and monitoring, each with a finding paraphrased to our standard and labelled in one vocabulary. Every entry links to a legitimate copy; nothing is copied from an abstract.

Papers 601–700 of 734 labelled “self-collection”, newest first.

2020
This review highlights how low-volume, minimally invasive microsampling of matrices such as dried capillary blood, interstitial fluid and saliva can enable untargeted metabolomics and longitudinal exposome studies in children, with the potential for home self-collection to improve convenience and parental support.
Minimally Invasive Biospecimen Collection for Exposome Research in Children's Health — Petrick et al., Current environmental health reports (paywalled)
- blood
- saliva
- interstitial-fluid
- dried
- capillary
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- pediatric
- metabolome
2020
Pooled testing of pharyngeal, anorectal and urine samples detected most Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in men who have sex with men, missing only one chlamydia-positive urine specimen, and yielded less PCR inhibition than single-site testing. Two self-collected anorectal swabs were inadequately sampled, indicating that pooling can streamline decentralised STI screening but self-collection quality must be assured.
Take three, test one: a cross-sectional study to evaluate the molecular detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in pooled pharyngeal, anorectal and urine samples versus single-site testing among men who have sex with men in Belgium — De Baetselier et al., Acta clinica Belgica (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2020
Capillary microsampling using the Neoteryx Mitra device predicted tacrolimus AUC with high accuracy and precision compared with venous sampling in renal transplant recipients, with 85% of estimates within ±11.9% error. Patients could self-sample accurately at home, enabling patient-centred therapeutic drug monitoring without extended hospital stays.
Tacrolimus Area Under the Concentration Versus Time Curve Monitoring, Using Home-Based Volumetric Absorptive Capillary Microsampling — Gustavsen et al., Therapeutic drug monitoring (paywalled)
- blood
- capillary
- vams
- neoteryx-mitra
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- tdm
- immunosuppressants
2020
In adult kidney transplant patients, adding DBS home sampling to usual care did not reduce outpatient visits or per-visit costs versus usual care alone, though most patients were willing to use DBS if it cut hospital attendances; logistical optimisation of mailing and timely analysis is required to realise travel and cost benefits.
Effects, costs and implementation of monitoring kidney transplant patients' tacrolimus levels with dried blood spot sampling: A randomized controlled hybrid implementation trial — Veenhof et al., British journal of clinical pharmacology
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- tdm
- immunosuppressants
- dct
- economics
2020
Nearly four in five women (79 per cent) had positive feelings about urine-based HPV testing, and more than three-quarters (78 per cent) preferred urine self-collection to cervico-vaginal sampling, with preference varying by race and ethnicity. Sixteen per cent worried about correct cervico-vaginal collection. Urine self-collection is highly acceptable across diverse United States populations and offers a decentralised approach that could improve cervical cancer screening coverage.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Acceptability of Urine and Cervico-Vaginal Sample Self-Collection for HPV-Based Cervical Cancer Screening — Rohner et al., Journal of women's health (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- hpv
- sti
2020
HbA1c measured from self-collected HemaSpot dried blood spots showed strong linear agreement with venous blood and was stable over time. With high patient acceptance, this supports remote diabetes monitoring for people in decentralised care models.
HbA1c determination from HemaSpot™ blood collection devices: comparison of home prepared dried blood spots with standard venous blood analysis — Hall et al., Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- acceptability
2020
In youth aged 8–16 years, first-waking saliva cortisol, IL-6 and IL-1β collected at home associate with prior-night actigraphy sleep metrics. Sleep quality confounds interpretation of salivary stress and immune biomarkers in decentralised paediatric microsampling, so protocols must account for it.
Bidirectional relationships between sleep and biomarkers of stress and immunity in youth — LaVoy et al., International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- cortisol
- biomarkers
- actigraphy
- multimodal
2019
A clinical validation showing dried blood samples can support infliximab concentration monitoring in inflammatory bowel disease.
Dried blood samples can support monitoring of infliximab concentrations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A clinical validation — Berends et al., British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
- venous-agreement
- biologics
- blood
- dbs
- tdm
- self-collection
- dried
- validation
2019
At-home first-void urine self-collection with Colli-Pee was feasible, well accepted, and gave chlamydia/gonorrhoea detection comparable to routine clinic-based urine, supporting home first-void sampling for populations needing frequent STI testing.
Evaluation of Colli-Pee first-void urine self-sampling at home versus clinic-based collection for sexually transmitted infections in MSM — De Baetselier et al., BMJ Open
- colli-pee
- acceptability
- first-void
- sti
- self-collection
- liquid
- urine
2019
An analysis of self-collected stool samples from 1,674 adults aged 18 to 74 found that migration and environmental factors shape the gut microbiome, with lower bacterial diversity linked to obesity. While this cross-sectional design limits causal inference, it shows the viability of decentralised sample collection for large-scale epidemiological studies.
Gut microbiome composition in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is shaped by geographic relocation, environmental factors, and obesity — Kaplan et al., Genome biology
- stool
- self-collection
- microbiome
2019
This study compared four stool collection methods for infant gut microbiome analysis via post and found that the OMNIgene•GUT kit showed the closest agreement with the frozen standard compared to swabs or plain tubes. The findings suggest that stabilised collection offers a viable decentralised solution for parents to sample infant stool at home with minimal DNA degradation.
Gut microbiome analysis by post: Evaluation of the optimal method to collect stool samples from infants within a national cohort study — Williams et al., PloS one
- stool
- stabilised
- dna-genotek-omnigene
- self-collection
- validation
- pediatric
- microbiome
2019
In women with HPV, first-void urine collected with the Colli-Pee device had higher HPV DNA concentrations than urine collected with a standard cup, although this advantage disappeared at high HPV DNA loads. Timing of collection (morning versus later) did not affect HPV DNA copies.
Human papillomavirus detection in urine: Effect of a first-void urine collection device and timing of collection — Pattyn et al., Journal of virological methods (paywalled)
- urine
- first-void
- colli-pee
- self-collection
- validation
- hpv
- sti
2019
In a prospective preconception cohort, participants correctly collected 82% of expected female urine samples and 59% of male samples on investigator-identified days, with high agreement between participants and expert reviewers on fertile window timing. This demonstrates that intensively scheduled, biologically triggered, at-home urine collection can be successfully targeted to the periconceptional window and completed in longitudinal research.
Compliance with daily, home-based collection of urinary biospecimens in a prospective, preconception cohort — Cox et al., Environmental epidemiology
- urine
- self-collection
- fertility
2019
Saliva self-collection at home and during clinical procedures yielded cortisol data from 326 children, revealing genetic variants in stress-response pathways that may identify paediatric patients at risk of adverse reactions to painful procedures, supporting tailored interventions in decentralised settings.
Genetic Variants and the Cortisol Response in Children: An Exploratory Study — Ersig et al., Biological research for nursing (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- cortisol
- genotyping
2019
This study shows wide variation across existing CT load quantification methods and demonstrates that normalising CT load to human cell load is inappropriate because molecular techniques cannot exclude inflammatory cells, supporting the need for standardisation in decentralised STI diagnostics.
Standardisation is necessary in urogenital and extragenital Chlamydia trachomatis bacterial load determination by quantitative PCR: a review of literature and retrospective study — Dirks et al., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2019
Noviplex dried plasma spot cards yielded neurofilament light chain measurements equivalent to standard plasma in healthy controls and ALS patients, while dried blood spot eluates gave different absolute values but still discriminated between the two groups. The results support remote dried blood microsampling as a practical alternative to venous sampling for neurodegeneration biomarkers in ALS.
Theme 7 Pre-clinical therapeutic strategies — Lombardi et al., Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- biomarkers
2019
Molecular tests that use urine or self-collected swabs may make STI screening more acceptable to patients, which could increase testing opportunities and enable faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment of gonorrhoea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and Mycoplasma genitalium infection.
STI update: Testing, treatment, and emerging threats — Hlatshwayo et al., Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2019
Male fire and emergency service workers showed a lower cortisol awakening response and post-awakening cortisol levels the day after a night on-call with a call, likely due to noise, exertion and stress during callouts. This supports the use of decentralised saliva sampling to assess real-world physiological stress responses in working populations.
Salivary cortisol profiles of on-call from home fire and emergency service personnel — Hall et al., Stress (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
- actigraphy
- multimodal
2019
Isoelectric focusing from dried blood spot and capillary samples yields results identical to serum for transferrin glycosylation, with stable storage at -20 degrees Celsius for more than six months, enabling reliable diagnosis and therapy control of congenital disorders of glycosylation and supporting home self-collection for follow-up.
Transferrin glycosylation analysis from dried blood spot cards and capillary blood samples — Wolking et al., Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- capillary
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- pediatric
2019
Among 800 pregnant women in Vietnam, self-collection of urine or vaginal swabs for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas screening proved highly acceptable and feasible, with chlamydia prevalence of 6.0%. This supports patient-centric decentralised STI screening in antenatal care, particularly in settings without established programmes.
Acceptability and feasibility of sexually transmissible infection screening among pregnant women in Hanoi, Vietnam — Nguyen et al., Sexual health (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2019
In 152 low-income pregnant women, saliva self-collected at home by passive drool showed that higher mindfulness and social support correlated with lower perceived stress reactivity, yet the cortisol awakening response did not differ. This demonstrates that home saliva sampling is feasible for stress biomarker assessment in pregnancy, but psychological interventions may affect subjective stress ratings more than physiological cortisol levels.
The influence of mindfulness and social support on stress reactivity during pregnancy — Sanchez Hernandez et al., Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2019
Adverse childhood family environments were associated with lower resting blood pressure in women but not men, and home-collected saliva samples showed women had lower total cortisol output than men. This supports the use of self-collected saliva for investigating stress biomarkers in patient-centric cardiovascular research.
Associations between adverse childhood family environments and blood pressure differ between men and women — Schreier et al., PloS one
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2019
In Shenzhen sexual and reproductive health clinics, 10.3% of attendees tested positive for Chlamydia trachomatis by NAAT on self-collected urine, with similar prevalence in men and women; younger age, prior never testing and co-infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae were independent risk factors, indicating the need for comprehensive CT screening and treatment programmes.
Chlamydia trachomatis infection among patients attending sexual and reproductive health clinics: A cross-sectional study in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, China — Yan et al., PloS one
- urine
- self-collection
- sti
2019
Parents of hospitalised children had lower morning saliva cortisol levels on the ward than when self-sampling at home four weeks later, while postawakening cortisol and cortisol awakening response did not differ between settings. This demonstrates that self-collected saliva can capture setting-specific differences in stress biomarkers, supporting decentralised studies of caregiver wellbeing.
The cortisol response in parents staying with a sick child at hospital — Angelhoff et al., Nursing open
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- hormones
- cortisol
2019
Self-collected first-void urine and vaginal swabs performed at home showed high prevalence and perfect clinic concordance for Mycoplasma genitalium, Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, enabling accurate decentralised STI testing.
Mycoplasma genitalium, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Detected With Aptima Assays Performed on Self-Obtained Vaginal Swabs and Urine Collected at Home and in a Clinic — Chernesky et al., Sexually transmitted diseases (paywalled)
- urine
- first-void
- self-collection
- sti
2019
Evaluation of the cobas® TV/MG assay showed 100% sensitivity and at least 99.2% specificity for detecting Trichomonas vaginalis in urine and vaginal swabs. Self-collected vaginal swabs performed equivalently to clinician-collected samples, confirming the test supports decentralised, patient-centric STI screening.
Trichomonas vaginalis Detection in Female Specimens with cobas® TV/MG for use on the cobas® 6800/8800 Systems — Marlowe et al., European journal of microbiology & immunology
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2019
In a fixed-sequence two-period Phase I study of 16 healthy volunteers taking sitagliptin, dried blood spot samples collected at home and digital adherence data captured via an electronic pill bottle were feasible and acceptable to participants. This supports patient-centric microsampling and remote monitoring for decentralised clinical trials, though the authors noted areas needing improvement.
Leveraging Digital Health Technologies and Outpatient Sampling in Clinical Drug Development: A Phase I Exploratory Study — Dockendorf et al., Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- dct
2019
The prototype recombinase polymerase amplification assay detected chlamydia in urine and self-collected vulvovaginal swabs with sensitivity of at least 94.3% and specificity of 99.7–100%, and gonorrhoeae in urine with 100% sensitivity and specificity, delivering results in 15 minutes. This rapid, accurate performance comparable to standard NAATs suggests potential for decentralised STI screening to improve treatment and reduce transmission.
Diagnostic accuracy of a prototype rapid chlamydia and gonorrhoea recombinase polymerase amplification assay: a multicentre cross-sectional preclinical evaluation — Harding-Esch et al., Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2019
The Colli-Pee device achieved very good to almost perfect agreement with clinic collected urine for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and mycoplasma testing, and participants found it feasible and convenient for home sampling, supporting its use for frequent STI screening in at-risk groups.
Evaluation of the 'Colli-Pee', a first-void urine collection device for self-sampling at home for the detection of sexually transmitted infections, versus a routine clinic-based urine collection in a one-to-one comparison study design: efficacy and acceptability among MSM in Belgium — De Baetselier et al., BMJ open
- urine
- first-void
- colli-pee
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2019
A web-based application that grades dried blood spot quality from smartphone photographs agreed with laboratory technicians in 90% of trained and 87% of untrained collections, raising usable sample rates for therapeutic drug monitoring from 80% to 96% in trained settings and from 42% to 88% in untrained settings. Patients rated the app as acceptable and completed the check in under two minutes, suggesting it could reduce sample rejection in decentralised settings.
Performance of a web-based application measuring spot quality in dried blood spot sampling — Veenhof et al., Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- tdm
2019
In this pilot study, a home-based urinary PDG test achieved 100% specificity and 85-88% sensitivity for confirming ovulation against serum progesterone. With half of participants finding the test easy to use, the results support further development of decentralised fertility monitoring, though a larger trial is needed for definitive validation.
Pilot observational prospective cohort study on the use of a novel home-based urinary pregnanediol 3-glucuronide (PDG) test to confirm ovulation when used as adjunct to fertility awareness methods (FAMs) stage 1 — Leiva et al., BMJ open
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- fertility
- hormones
2019
Among gay and bisexual men, urine-based STI self-sampling was reported as easy by 99% of participants and rectal swab self-collection by 90%. Nearly all trusted their rapid HIV self-test results, with 94% reading them within the recommended 20-40 minute window, indicating high acceptability and reliability of home-based diagnostic testing for this population.
Gay and bisexual men's experiences using self-testing kits for HIV and rectal and urethral bacterial sexually transmitted infections: Lessons learned from a study with home-based testing — John et al., International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2019
Guardian-collected capillary dried blood spots were feasible for home monitoring of lamotrigine, and for carbamazepine and valproic acid when conversion factors were applied, with only 4 of 190 comparisons risking a conflicting dose decision and negligible risk of patient harm. Levetiracetam DBS showed high variability against plasma and is recommended only for checking nonadherence, not for dose adjustment.
Dried Blood Spot Self-Sampling by Guardians of Children With Epilepsy Is Feasible: Comparison With Plasma for Multiple Antiepileptic Drugs — Linder et al., Therapeutic drug monitoring (paywalled)
- blood
- liquid
- dried
- capillary
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- pediatric
- tdm
2019
Users of an internet-based STI testing kit programme reported high satisfaction and many were repeat users. Both men and women preferred genital self-collected swabs to urine specimens, indicating strong patient acceptance of decentralised screening and demand for broader home-testing options.
An Analysis of User Survey Data for an Internet Program for Testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections, I Want the Kit, in Maryland and Washington, DC — Hogenson et al., Sexually transmitted diseases (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2019
A urine progesterone self-test using a 5 μg/mL threshold confirmed ovulation in 82% of cycles, compared with 59% when a 7 μg/mL threshold was used. This pilot study shows that home-based urine testing can reliably detect luteal phase progesterone rise, supporting decentralised fertility monitoring.
Pilot Evaluation of a New Urine Progesterone Test to Confirm Ovulation in Women Using a Fertility Monitor — Bouchard et al., Frontiers in public health
- urine
- self-collection
- fertility
- hormones
2019
Remote self-collected dried blood samples were more likely to be graded Good quality than in-clinic samples, with roughly 1.5 times higher odds of a Good grade, though response rates were lower for remote sampling.
Feasibility of Patient-Centric Remote Dried Blood Sampling: The Prediction, Risk, and Evaluation of Major Adverse Cardiac Events (PRE-MACE) Study — Fuller et al., Biodemography and social biology (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- self-collection
- acceptability
2019
In extremely preterm-born children, salivary cortisol and DHEA at age 6 correlated inversely with early postnatal growth measures and positively with systolic blood pressure, and DHEA was higher than in term-born children, suggesting perinatal programming of cardiometabolic risk.
Adrenal function links to early postnatal growth and blood pressure at age 6 in children born extremely preterm — Watterberg et al., Pediatric research
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- hormones
- cortisol
2019
VAMS capillary blood showed strong agreement with venous serum for measuring anti-influenza antibodies and remained stable for three weeks at room temperature. When volunteers performed finger-stick sampling at home, their results were highly consistent with on-site collection by study personnel.
Application of volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) to measure multidimensional anti-influenza IgG antibodies by the mPlex-Flu assay — Wang et al., Journal of clinical and translational science
- blood
- dried
- capillary
- vams
- neoteryx-mitra
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- serology
2019
Women showed elevated evening saliva cortisol and flattened diurnal variation with higher aircraft noise exposure, whereas morning cortisol and all measures in men were unchanged. These findings from self-collected samples demonstrate saliva can serve as a decentralised biomarker for environmentally driven hormonal dysregulation in large cohorts.
Saliva cortisol in relation to aircraft noise exposure: pooled-analysis results from seven European countries — Baudin et al., Environmental health : a global access science source
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2019
Fingerprick dried blood spots showed analytical agreement with whole blood for sirolimus and everolimus in transplant patients, but only 77.3% and 61.5% of samples fell within the pre-defined 15% clinical relevance limit, missing the 80% target for both drugs. This suggests the method cannot yet replace conventional sampling for immunosuppressant monitoring without accepting less stringent clinical criteria, which constrains its use in decentralised diagnostics.
Clinical application of a dried blood spot assay for sirolimus and everolimus in transplant patients — Veenhof et al., Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- tdm
- immunosuppressants
2019
The Cobas CT/NG assay demonstrated high sensitivity (95.6–100%) and specificity (≥98.8%) for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae across urine and self-collected vaginal swabs from men and women. This validates patient-centric self-sampling for accurate, high-throughput STI screening suitable for decentralised public health programmes.
Evaluation of the Performance of the Cobas CT/NG Test for Use on the Cobas 6800/8800 Systems for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Male and Female Urogenital Samples — Van Der Pol et al., Journal of clinical microbiology
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2019
In a pilot of eight perimenopausal women, daily self-collected saliva assays and online symptom questionnaires showed that progesterone modifies estradiol’s association with binge eating and body dissatisfaction, broadly aligning with data from younger women. This demonstrates that decentralised hormone monitoring can capture clinically relevant symptom fluctuations, supporting the feasibility of remote studies in midlife women.
Ovarian hormones influence eating disorder symptom variability during the menopause transition: A pilot study — Baker et al., Eating behaviors (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- fertility
- hormones
2019
Among 68 chronic myeloid leukaemia patients self-sampling dried blood spots for nilotinib therapeutic drug monitoring at home, 77% of samples were clinically useful. Patients found the procedure easy and not painful, with 75% requiring no assistance, though lower educational level predicted unsuitable samples, underscoring the need for clear instruction.
Feasibility of and patients' perspective on nilotinib dried blood spot self-sampling — Boons et al., European journal of clinical pharmacology (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- tdm
- oncology
2019
This review summarises evidence that saliva contains proteins, metabolites, DNA alterations and miRNA that may serve as biomarkers for aging and Alzheimer's disease. It matters for decentralised diagnostics because it establishes the scientific rationale for using self-collected saliva in population screening, though it does not present original validation or stability data.
Current State of Saliva Biomarkers for Aging and Alzheimer's Disease — François et al., Current Alzheimer research (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- validation
- biomarkers
2019
In a rural Indian cohort of 712 infants, each additional childhood adversity factor was associated with a 6.1% increase in hair cortisol concentration, while diurnal salivary cortisol measures showed no association. This demonstrates that chronic stress biomarkers can be reliably measured from hair and saliva collected during home visits, supporting decentralised paediatric research in low-resource settings.
The contribution of childhood adversity to cortisol measures of early life stress amongst infants in rural India: Findings from the early life stress sub-study of the SPRING cluster randomised controlled trial (SPRING-ELS) — Bhopal et al., Psychoneuroendocrinology
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- hormones
- cortisol
2019
This review summarises the use of saliva as a non-invasive diagnostic fluid for systemic diseases, toxicology, therapeutic drug monitoring and neuropsychiatric disorders. It concludes that the ease of self-collection makes saliva particularly suitable for psychiatric patients who may struggle to cooperate with venous sampling.
Diagnostic Value of Salivary Markers in Neuropsychiatric Disorders — Kułak-Bejda et al., Disease markers
- saliva
- self-collection
- tdm
2018
A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to raise colorectal cancer screening participation, including mailed outreach of home collection kits.
Evaluation of Interventions Intended to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis — Dougherty et al., JAMA Internal Medicine (paywalled)
- acceptability
- self-collection
- colorectal
- stool
- fit
2018
Volumetric dried blood spot sampling showed good agreement with conventional venous sampling for tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid concentrations in renal transplant recipients, with most concentrations and abbreviated AUCs falling within ±20% of conventional measures. Dosing recommendations differed on some occasions but the clinical impact was modest, suggesting home-based microsampling could support decentralised therapeutic drug monitoring with appropriate patient training.
Therapeutic drug monitoring of tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid in outpatient renal transplant recipients using a volumetric dried blood spot sampling device — Zwart et al., British journal of clinical pharmacology (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- volumetric
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- tdm
- immunosuppressants
2018
First-void urine collected with a dedicated device showed good agreement with cervical samples for detecting HPV DNA and viral load, and was strongly preferred by patients over clinician collection, supporting its use for decentralised screening.
Human papillomavirus genotype and viral load agreement between paired first-void urine and clinician-collected cervical samples — Van Keer et al., European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology
- urine
- first-void
- colli-pee
- self-collection
- acceptability
- hpv
2018
Among 116 persons who inject drugs, site-specific specimen collection preferences aligned closely with reported sexual risk behaviours. The study found high awareness of STI transmission, yet outreach through syringe exchange programmes paired with education on site-specific screening could improve case finding in this population.
Examining unmet needs: a cross-sectional study exploring knowledge, attitudes and sexually transmitted infection screening preferences among persons who inject drugs in Camden, New Jersey — Roth et al., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled)
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2018
Self-collected saliva cortisol and cortisone showed good correlation with free, non-protein-bound serum concentrations across a pregnancy cycle, supporting saliva as a decentralised surrogate for monitoring free glucocorticosteroid levels. Plasma protein binding of cortisone decreased from 86.3 per cent to 80.7 per cent during pregnancy while cortisol binding remained stable at approximately 96 per cent.
The plasma protein binding of the endogenous glucocorticosteroids is of vital importance for the concentrations in hair and saliva — Krumbholz et al., Forensic science international (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2018
Afternoon salivary cortisol concentrations were significantly higher when collected in the laboratory than when self-collected at home, indicating that collection setting materially influences results. No significant differences were found across menstrual cycle phases or by relationship status, suggesting these factors do not confound basal cortisol measurements in healthy women.
Salivary Afternoon Cortisol and Relationship Status in Healthy Women with Regular Menstrual Cycles — Wilson et al., Women's reproductive health (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- fertility
- hormones
- cortisol
2018
Urine self-sampling detected high-risk HPV with 51% sensitivity and 96% specificity compared to clinician-collected cervical samples, showing moderate overall agreement but substantial agreement in women aged 40 and older. This indicates urine testing could serve as a viable screening tool in low-resource settings where clinical collection is challenging, particularly for older women.
Randomized controlled trial evaluating the utility of urine HPV DNA for cervical cancer screening in a Pacific Island population — Hernandez et al., Journal of global health reports (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- hpv
- sti
2018
Urine self-collection detected CIN2/3 with 90.2% sensitivity compared with 93.4% for cervical samples, showing moderate concordance (kappa 0.42) and similar HPV16 detection rates. This validates urine-based HPV screening as a less invasive, patient-centric approach that could expand cervical cancer screening coverage in decentralised healthcare settings.
Detection and genotyping of human papillomavirus virus (HPV): a comparative analysis of clinical performance in cervical and urine samples in Chilean women — Buchegger et al., International journal of clinical and experimental pathology (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- genotyping
- hpv
- sti
2018
Glycated haemoglobin measurement from home-collected dried blood spots correlated strongly with venous sampling (r=0.93) and, after bias correction, achieved a concordance correlation of 0.9 with 100% positive predictive value for levels above 7%. With 88.5% of patients preferring home collection, the method offers a viable patient-centric alternative to laboratory venepuncture for decentralised diabetes monitoring.
Comparison of Glycated Hemoglobin Results Based on At-Home and In-Lab Dried Blood Spot Sampling to Routine Venous Blood Sampling In-Lab in Adult Patients With Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes — Elliott et al., Canadian journal of diabetes (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- acceptability
2018
Monthly rotating shift type significantly altered the cortisol awakening response (CARi) in female nurses who self-collected saliva at home. This demonstrates that patient-centric microsampling can capture stress-hormone changes related to occupational schedules, supporting decentralised monitoring of worker health.
Influence of shift type on sleep quality of female nurses working monthly rotating shifts with cortisol awakening response as mediating variable — Chang, Chronobiology international (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2018
Self-collected urine from men and vaginal swabs from women detected Chlamydia trachomatis in 8.8% of affluent Chilean youth under 25 years. Having some college education was protective, while a higher number of sexual partners and postcoital bleeding in women were risk factors, showing that decentralised STI screening via self-sampling produces valid epidemiological and clinical insights.
Prevalence of Chlamydia Trachomatis, Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas Vaginalis Infection in Chilean Adolescents and Young Adults — Huneeus et al., Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- sti
2018
Self-collected urine and vaginal swabs were feasible for HPV detection with high agreement between matrices, offering a decentralised alternative for women hesitant to attend cervical screening.
A prospective pilot evaluation of vaginal and urine self-sampling for the Roche cobas 4800 HPV test for cervical cancer screening — Hwang et al., Scientific reports
- urine
- self-collection
- hpv
- sti
2018
Home-collected saliva showed that six days of escitalopram steepened diurnal cortisol slopes in healthy women by raising waking cortisol, suggesting SSRIs may correct flattened cortisol rhythms in depression. No effects were seen on cortisol awakening response or total daily output, demonstrating that self-sampling can capture drug-induced endocrine changes.
The effects of six-day SSRI administration on diurnal cortisol secretion in healthy volunteers — Ronaldson et al., Psychopharmacology
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2018
Singaporean women aged 40-69 showed significant preferences for sample type, pretest discussion provider, and out-of-pocket cost when considering SNP gene testing for breast cancer screening. Tailoring genetic testing to patient preferences may improve uptake, highlighting that acceptability of self-collected buccal swab and dried blood spot samples is crucial for decentralised screening programmes.
Women's preferences, willingness-to-pay, and predicted uptake for single-nucleotide polymorphism gene testing to guide personalized breast cancer screening strategies: a discrete choice experiment — Wong et al., Patient preference and adherence
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- genotyping
2018
Web-delivered multimedia training for self-collection of dried blood spots was acceptable to 98% of participants and produced usable samples in 96% of attempts, indicating that remote instruction can enable reliable patient-centric microsampling, though response rates to recruitment need improvement.
Web-Delivered Multimedia Training Materials for the Self-Collection of Dried Blood Spots: A Formative Project — Allen et al., JMIR formative research
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
2018
Among 9207 women in Shenzhen, chlamydia prevalence was 4.12% and gonorrhoea 0.17% by NAAT on self collected urine; risk factors included ethnic minority status, non condom contraception, adverse pregnancy history and recent reproductive tract symptoms, indicating need for targeted decentralised screening and treatment programmes.
Population-based study of chlamydial and gonococcal infections among women in Shenzhen, China: Implications for programme planning — Luo et al., PloS one
- urine
- self-collection
- sti
2018
Dried blood spot sampling showed good agreement with whole blood for measuring everolimus in cancer patients, with ninety percent of samples demonstrating acceptable prediction error and low bias. This enables home-based therapeutic drug monitoring, allowing clinicians to individualise dosing without requiring patient visits.
Clinical validation study of dried blood spot for determining everolimus concentration in patients with cancer — Willemsen et al., European journal of clinical pharmacology
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- tdm
- oncology
2018
The OMNIgene•GUT kit proved reliable for stool microsampling and ambient storage, with samples stored at room temperature for seven days showing comparable bacterial DNA quantity and diversity to fresh samples; transient phylum-level differences were seen at 24 hours but not at seven days. This supports decentralised, patient-centric microbiome research by enabling home self-collection and postal transport, while emphasising that DNA extraction method has greater impact on microbiome profiles than storage conditions.
Reliability of a participant-friendly fecal collection method for microbiome analyses: a step towards large sample size investigation — Szopinska et al., BMC microbiology
- stool
- stabilised
- dna-genotek-omnigene
- self-collection
- validation
- microbiome
2018
Home self-collection of saliva at 32 weeks gestation demonstrated sex-specific associations between maternal cortisol and infant birth weight, with a significant positive association in males. This shows that decentralised sampling can capture clinically relevant hormone data for prenatal research without clinic visits.
Associations between maternal prenatal cortisol and fetal growth are specific to infant sex: findings from the Wirral Child Health and Development Study — Braithwaite et al., Journal of developmental origins of health and disease (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
2018
The authors developed an inexpensive smartphone-based device that uses artificial intelligence to detect fern patterns in self-collected saliva samples, achieving over 99% accuracy in predicting ovulation. This approach offers a low-cost, patient-friendly alternative to urine hormone tests and basal body temperature monitoring for natural family planning.
An inexpensive smartphone-based device for point-of-care ovulation testing — Potluri et al., Lab on a chip (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- fertility
2018
Most men who have sex with men could self-administer HIV rapid tests and correctly interpret results, but 27% of dried blood spot cards were of poor quality and interpretation was difficult when control lines were absent, suggesting instructions need refinement before decentralised deployment.
Pilot Evaluation of the Ability of Men Who Have Sex with Men to Self-Administer Rapid HIV Tests, Prepare Dried Blood Spot Cards, and Interpret Test Results, Atlanta, Georgia, 2013 — MacGowan et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- serology
- sti
2018
Remote hepatitis C self-testing and self-sampling are broadly acceptable among people who use drugs, with rapid saliva testing preferred over delayed blood sample results. However, successful uptake requires clear integration into supportive care pathways to help individuals manage positive diagnoses.
A qualitative assessment of the acceptability of hepatitis C remote self-testing and self-sampling amongst people who use drugs in London, UK — Guise et al., BMC infectious diseases
- blood
- saliva
- self-collection
- acceptability
- serology
2018
Self-collection of urine and vaginal swabs for chlamydia and gonorrhoea testing increased screening uptake by 28.5% in male and 13.7% in female university students. Female students tested positive at a markedly higher rate via self-collection (12.4%) than via clinician collection (4.8%), indicating that decentralised self-testing reaches higher-risk individuals and improves case detection.
Creating Innovative Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Options for University Students: The Impact of an STI Self-testing Program — Habel et al., Sexually transmitted diseases (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2018
A dried blood spot LC-MS/MS method was validated for therapeutic monitoring of carbamazepine, lamotrigine, levetiracetam and valproic acid. Concentrations from dried blood spots correlated strongly with plasma (R² 0.92) across venous and capillary samples, enabling home self-collection and reducing clinic visits for children with epilepsy.
Carbamazepine, lamotrigine, levetiracetam and valproic acid in dried blood spots with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry; method development and validation — Linder et al., Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- capillary
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- pediatric
- tdm
2018
Self-collected dried blood spots returned by post achieved an 82.4% return rate and identified a 3.04% HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men in Tokyo, with 70.6% of provisional positives later confirmed at hospital, demonstrating strong demand for postal self-sampling screening in populations that conventional services struggle to reach.
Assessment of HIV prevalence among MSM in Tokyo using self-collected dried blood spots delivered through the postal service — Takano et al., BMC infectious diseases
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- serology
- sti
2018
The immunosensor accurately measured salivary cortisol across the physiological range with good reproducibility and recovery, and showed strong agreement with UHPLC-MS/MS, enabling reliable patient self-collection for stress hormone monitoring.
Disposable electrochemical immunosensor for cortisol determination in human saliva — Kämäräinen et al., Talanta (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- validation
- hormones
- cortisol
2018
Among 554 HIV-positive men who have sex with men, 60.8 per cent successfully collected an adequate dried blood spot specimen at home for HIV-1 RNA quantification. The study revealed that 52.5 per cent had a detectable viral load, and most of these men had previously self-reported an undetectable result, demonstrating that decentralised sampling can identify gaps in treatment adherence and viral suppression.
Quantification of HIV-1 RNA Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Using an At-Home Self-Collected Dried Blood Spot Specimen: Feasibility Study — Hirshfield et al., JMIR public health and surveillance
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- acceptability
- serology
2017
Finger-prick dried blood spots supported monitoring of both adalimumab and anti-adalimumab antibodies in inflammatory rheumatic disease: biologic TDM without a venous draw.
Dried blood spots from finger prick facilitate therapeutic drug monitoring of adalimumab and anti-adalimumab in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases — Kneepkens et al., British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (paywalled)
- venous-agreement
- biologics
- blood
- dbs
- tdm
- self-collection
- dried
- validation
2017
Testing 58 IBD patients, 50 IBS patients, and 33 controls found that measuring calprotectin and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) in self-collected colorectal mucus distinguishes these groups, P<0.05. This patient-centric, decentralised method successfully monitored disease activity at days 10, 20, and 30, though the authors note EDN performance requires further validation.
Inflammatory bowel disease detection and monitoring by measuring biomarkers in non-invasively collected colorectal mucus — Loktionov et al., Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology (paywalled)
- stool
- self-collection
- colorectal
- biomarkers
2017
First-void urine self-collected with the Colli-Pee device detected high-risk HPV with sensitivity for CIN2+ comparable to clinician-taken smears and brush-based self-samples. This supports urine as a viable matrix for decentralised, patient-centric cervical cancer screening.
HPV testing in first-void urine provides sensitivity for CIN2+ detection comparable with a smear taken by a clinician or a brush-based self-sample: cross-sectional data from a triage population — Leeman et al., BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology (paywalled)
- urine
- first-void
- colli-pee
- self-collection
- validation
- hpv
2017
Gammaproteobacteria proliferate in stool samples shipped at room temperature, distorting microbiome profiles. A computational correction method that removes sequences from these blooming taxa enables reliable microbiome analysis from self-collected samples sent without cold chain, producing results comparable to frozen specimens.
Correcting for Microbial Blooms in Fecal Samples during Room-Temperature Shipping — Amir et al., mSystems
- stool
- stabilised
- dna-genotek-omnigene
- self-collection
- validation
- microbiome
2017
The review concludes that first-void urine is a feasible source for molecular biomarkers, such as host and viral gene methylation, to triage high-risk HPV infections, offering a non-invasive and preferred method for women that may improve screening adherence.
First-void urine: A potential biomarker source for triage of high-risk human papillomavirus infected women — Van Keer et al., European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology (paywalled)
- urine
- first-void
- self-collection
- validation
- hpv
- biomarkers
- liquid-biopsy
2017
In a community-based cohort of elderly men, remote stool self-collection using the OMNIgene·GUT kit achieved high participation and sample adequacy, with mailed samples yielding high-quality DNA for microbiome profiling; this supports decentralised, patient-centric stool sampling for large-scale research.
Successful collection of stool samples for microbiome analyses from a large community-based population of elderly men — Abrahamson et al., Contemporary clinical trials communications
- stool
- stabilised
- dna-genotek-omnigene
- self-collection
- acceptability
- microbiome
2017
Dried VAMS and DBS samples collected at home and analysed after a median of three days showed poor agreement with standard venous or capillary blood for HbA1c monitoring. In contrast, wet VAMS samples analysed immediately demonstrated excellent agreement, indicating that sample drying and delayed analysis compromise reliability for decentralised HbA1c measurement.
Volumetric absorptive microsampling at home as an alternative tool for the monitoring of HbA1c in diabetes patients — Verougstraete et al., Clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine (paywalled)
- blood
- liquid
- dried
- capillary
- vams
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- venous-agreement
- acceptability
- pediatric
2017
Almost all Chilean adolescents and young adults found self-collection easy for STI testing. Most preferred it to clinician-collected samples and said they would test more often if self-collection were available, supporting its use in decentralised screening programmes.
[Adolescents find it easy to collect their own samples to study sexually transmitted infections] — Huneeus et al., Revista chilena de infectologia : organo oficial de la Sociedad Chilena de Infectologia (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- pediatric
- sti
2017
UriSwab provided a practical transport medium for urine-based STI testing, with Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae nucleic acids remaining detectable by PCR after up to 16 days' ambient or elevated temperature storage, and Mycoplasma genitalium for up to 10 days. This facilitates patient self-collection and postal return in decentralised sexual health programmes.
UriSwab: an effective transport medium for nucleic acid detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma genitalium and Neisseria gonorrhoeae — Costa et al., Sexual health (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2017
Self-collected dry glans swabs detected Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae with 91% sensitivity and 99% specificity, showing 98% agreement with clinician-collected swabs. This patient-centric approach enables decentralised STI screening programmes by facilitating non-invasive specimen collection in non-medical venues.
Self-collected glans/meatal 'dry' swab specimen and NAAT technology detects Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae - implications for public policy changes — Ferrero et al., International journal of STD & AIDS (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2017
Maltreating families showed lower initial adherence to home salivary cortisol sampling than nonmaltreating families, but achieved comparable compliance after receiving additional support and resampling opportunities. Electronic monitoring devices enabled tracking of collection protocol adherence, showing that targeted support facilitates reliable self-collection in vulnerable populations for decentralised diagnostics.
Adherence to Diurnal Cortisol Sampling Among Mother-Child Dyads From Maltreating and Nonmaltreating Families — Valentino et al., Child maltreatment (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- cortisol
2017
More than half of Australian opioid injectors reported recent injection of pharmaceutical opioids, and this behaviour was linked to daily injection, sharing of syringes or equipment, overdose and regional residence, indicating a need for targeted harm reduction including naloxone and specialist filters.
High risk injecting behaviour among people who inject pharmaceutical opioids in Australia — Iversen et al., The International journal on drug policy (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- capillary
- dbs
- self-collection
- serology
2017
Self-collection of saliva and hair specimens from ethnically diverse breast cancer survivors proved feasible, with samples remaining stable during shipment and storage. Hair cortisol measured by ELISA showed acceptable variability (16% coefficient of variation), supporting decentralised capture of chronic stress biomarkers in oncology cohorts without clinic visits.
Evaluation of cortisol and telomere length measurements in ethnically diverse women with breast cancer using culturally sensitive methods — Ramirez et al., Journal of community genetics
- saliva
- self-collection
- validation
- cortisol
- biomarkers
2017
Self-collected meatal swabs achieved 91% sensitivity and 99% specificity for Chlamydia trachomatis and 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, demonstrating non-inferiority to urine specimens. This supports their use as a patient-centric alternative sample type for decentralised STI diagnostics in men.
Comparison of self-collected meatal swabs with urine specimens for the diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in men — Berry & Stanley, Journal of medical microbiology (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- sti
2017
In a Yap community-based study, 95 per cent of women reported comfort with self-collected urine HPV testing versus 82 per cent with Pap smears, though 42 per cent preferred a clinician to perform the Pap test. This suggests urine self-collection could improve cervical screening access in underserved low-middle income settings where trained personnel are scarce.
Acceptability and feasibility of a community based participatory research project comparing cytology and urine HPV DNA testing for cervical cancer screening in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia — Sy et al., Cancer epidemiology (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- hpv
- sti
2017
A UHPLC-MS/MS assay for risperidone, aripiprazole, pipamperone and their metabolites in dried blood spots was validated for therapeutic drug monitoring. The method proved accurate across haematocrit values of 30-45 percent, remained stable for ten days at room temperature, and was successfully applied to patient samples, enabling decentralised monitoring in children with autism spectrum disorders.
Dried Blood Spots Combined With Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for the Quantification of the Antipsychotics Risperidone, Aripiprazole, Pipamperone, and Their Major Metabolites — Tron et al., Therapeutic drug monitoring (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- validation
- pediatric
- tdm
- haematocrit
2017
DBS sampling by finger prick enables remote collection so patients need not attend a clinic, and assays often meet analytical criteria, but clinical validation and routine implementation are limited; ideally both medicines and clinical chemistry should be measured in the same sample.
Dried Blood Spot sampling in psychiatry: Perspectives for improving therapeutic drug monitoring — Martial et al., European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (paywalled)
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- tdm
2017
Among 148 Marshallese adults recruited through community-based participatory research, 95.5% provided a 2 mL saliva specimen using an Oragene DNA self-collection kit and 96.6% agreed to future contact, demonstrating high acceptability of patient-centric, decentralised genetic sampling in an underserved population with disproportionate type 2 diabetes burden.
Leveraging community-based participatory research capacity to recruit Pacific Islanders into a genetics study — McElfish et al., Journal of community genetics (paywalled)
- saliva
- dna-genotek-oragene
- self-collection
- acceptability
- genotyping
2017
In low income children, lower cortisol output strengthened the association between lack of routine and poorer emotion regulation, suggesting that underlying stress biology may shape how home environment influences child emotion regulation.
Child cortisol moderates the association between family routines and emotion regulation in low-income children — Miller et al., Developmental psychobiology (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- pediatric
- hormones
- cortisol
2017
First-void urine self-collection detected HPV with 80% sensitivity versus cervical cells when using a multiplex PCR assay, but only 58% with a less sensitive assay, showing that analytical sensitivity determines feasibility of decentralised STI screening. All five high-grade cervical lesions were identified in urine by at least one assay, confirming urine sampling can support HPV vaccine impact monitoring if sensitive methods are employed.
Evaluation of the performance of Human Papillomavirus testing in paired urine and clinician-collected cervical samples among women aged over 30 years in Bhutan — Tshomo et al., Virology journal
- urine
- first-void
- self-collection
- validation
- hpv
- sti
2017
Aircraft noise exposure flattened the daily cortisol rhythm in 1244 adults, with unchanged morning but higher evening saliva cortisol levels. This shows home-collected saliva can monitor stress-related HPA axis changes linked to cardiovascular disease risk, supporting decentralised biomarker screening.
Effects of aircraft noise exposure on saliva cortisol near airports in France — Lefèvre et al., Occupational and environmental medicine (paywalled)
- saliva
- self-collection
- hormones
- cortisol
- biomarkers
2017
Self-collected capillary blood samples provided sufficient volume and quality for islet autoantibody testing in 98% of samples for GAD, IA-2 and ZnT8 and 84% for insulin autoantibodies, with upper 90% confidence bounds for unsuccessful collection of 4.4% and 19.3% respectively; despite 43% finding it uncomfortable or painful, 82% preferred home self-collection over outpatient venepuncture, supporting feasibility and acceptability of decentralised screening.
Use of self-collected capillary blood samples for islet autoantibody screening in relatives: a feasibility and acceptability study — Liu et al., Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association (paywalled)
- blood
- liquid
- capillary
- self-collection
- acceptability
2017
The Cobas 4800 HPV test detected high-grade pre-cancerous cervical lesions in self-collected vaginal samples with the same sensitivity as clinician-taken cervical samples at 92.8 per cent, while urine self-sampling achieved a lower sensitivity of 76.3 per cent, supporting vaginal self-sampling as a viable decentralised alternative to clinic-based cervical screening.
Vaginal and Urine Self-sampling Compared to Cervical Sampling for HPV-testing with the Cobas 4800 HPV Test — Asciutto et al., Anticancer research (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- validation
- hpv
- sti
2016
This pilot study found that a self-administered anal swabbing technique for collecting colorectal mucus was rated as acceptable by 96% of participants and yielded samples suitable for cytology and protein analysis. The method successfully detected elevated mucin 2 levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, indicating its potential for non-invasive screening.
Assessment of cytology and mucin 2 in colorectal mucus collected from patients with inflammatory bowel disease: Results of a pilot trial — Loktionov et al., Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology (paywalled)
- acceptability
- self-collection
- colorectal
- stool
- biomarkers
2016
Home DBS sampling for therapeutic drug monitoring in children cut total costs per draw by 43% for haemato-oncology patients and 61% for renal transplant patients from a societal perspective, with smaller savings from a healthcare-only viewpoint. The findings support decentralised diagnostics in paediatric care by quantifying the economic advantage of reducing hospital visits.
Cost Evaluation of Dried Blood Spot Home Sampling as Compared to Conventional Sampling for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Children — Martial et al., PloS one
- blood
- dried
- dbs
- self-collection
- pediatric
- tdm
- economics
2016
Young low-risk heterosexual clients in Amsterdam strongly preferred home-collection kits for chlamydia testing, with 80% choosing this option and 88% returning samples. The 6% positivity rate and absence of other STIs showed home collection could improve clinic efficiency by triaging low-risk clients.
Young Low-Risk Heterosexual Clients Prefer a Chlamydia Home Collection Test to a Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic Visit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, A Cross-Sectional Study — van Rooijen et al., Sexually transmitted diseases (paywalled)
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti
2016
The programme found that men prefer traditional healthcare settings for STI screening, yet community venues such as amateur football clubs were acceptable to about half of sports participants, with high uptake of urine-based screening across different promotional approaches. Self-sampling kits for STIs were highly acceptable, and accelerated partner therapy via telephone hotline or pharmacy assessment achieved partner treatment rates that, while below national standards, exceeded outcomes previously reported from community settings.
The Ballseye programme: a mixed-methods programme of research in traditional sexual health and alternative community settings to improve the sexual health of men in the UK — Estcourt et al., NIHR Journals Library, Southampton
- urine
- self-collection
- acceptability
- sti

Read from the corpus on 2026-09-09.