Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36596443›Full record

ArticleJournal of immunological methods2023

Dried blood spots are a valid alternative to venipuncture for COVID-19 antibody testing.

Matthew D Sims, Robert H Podolsky, Karen L Childers, Barbara Higgins, Jillian Trueman, Ramin Homayouni, Daniel R Voss, Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, Hans Keil, Richard H Kennedy and 1 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of immunological methods, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04349202 (Beaumont Health Large-scale Automated Serologic Testing for COVID-19), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04349202 completednot on this map

Beaumont Health Large-scale Automated Serologic Testing for COVID-19

TypeobservationalSponsorCorewell Health EastRan2020 to 2021Enrolled20,614ConditionsCOVID-19, Coronavirus Infection, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2ArmsEUROIMMUN assay
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Matthew D SimsSection of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Beaumont Royal Oak, Royal Oak, MI, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA; Department of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA.
Robert H PodolskyBiostatistics, Beaumont Research Institute, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Karen L ChildersBiostatistics, Beaumont Research Institute, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Barbara HigginsResearch Education and Process Improvement, Beaumont Research Institute, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Jillian TruemanDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Beaumont Royal Oak, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Ramin HomayouniDepartment of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA.
Daniel R VossResearch Computing, Beaumont Research Institute, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Natalie Berkiw-ScennaProject Management Office, Beaumont Health, Southfield, MI, USA.
Hans KeilBeaumont Health, Information Technology, Southfield, MI, USA.
Richard H KennedyDepartment of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA; Beaumont Research Institute, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
Gabriel N MaineDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Beaumont Royal Oak, Royal Oak, MI, USA; Department of Pathology, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI, USA. Electronic address: gabriel.maine@beaumont.edu.
Beaumont Health · USOakland University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSerologic analysis is an important tool towards assessing the humoral response to COVID-19 infection and vaccination. Numerous serologic tests and platforms are currently available to support this line of testing. Two broad antibody testing categories are point-of-care lateral flow immunoassays and semi-quantitative immunoassays performed in clinical laboratories, which typically require blood collected from a finger-stick and a standard venipuncture blood draw, respectively. This study evaluated the use of dried blood spot (DBS) collections as a sample source for COVID-19 antibody testing using an automated clinical laboratory test system.

methodsTwo hundred and ninety-four participants in the BLAST COVID-19 seroprevalence study (NCT04349202) were recruited at the time of a scheduled blood draw to have an additional sample taken via finger stick as a DBS collection. Using the EUROIMMUN assay to assess SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike IgG status, DBS specimens were tested on 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post- collection and compared to the reference serum sample obtained from a blood draw for the BLAST COVID-19 study.

resultsSARS-CoV-2 anti-spike IgG status from DBS collections demonstrated high concordance with serum across all time points (7-28 days). However, the semi-quantitative value from DBS collections was lower on average than that from serum, resulting in increased uncertainty around the equivocal-to-positive analytical decision point.

conclusionsDBS collections can be substituted for venipuncture when assaying for COVID-19 IgG antibody, with samples being stable for at least 28 days at room temperature. Finger-stick sampling can therefore be advantageous for testing large populations for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies without the need for phlebotomists or immediate processing of samples. We have high confidence in serostaus determination from DBS collections, although the reduced semi-quantitative value may cause some low-level positives to fall into the equivocal or even negative range.

Indexed as

COVID-19Antibodies, ViralCOVID-19 Serological TestingCOVID-19 TestingDried Blood Spot TestingHumansImmunoglobulin GPhlebotomySARS-CoV-2Sensitivity and SpecificitySeroepidemiologic StudiesAntibodies, ViralImmunoglobulin GCOVID-19COVID-19 antibodyDried blood spotSARS-CoV-2 IgG

Identifiers

PMID36596443
PMCPMC9804961
OpenAlexW4313398579

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.