Dried blood spot (DBS) kits are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to giving blood through a needle for many reasons. Although they have been used for many years, they are being developed for various applications other than newborn diagnostics. As DBS kits are being used more often, it is understandable that people would like to know how accurate they are. This blog post provides the answer to that question, so keep reading to find out.
Dried blood spot kits are an ideal way of obtaining samples because they are accurate, convenient and easy to use. Simply put, DBS kits require the patient to prick their fingertip and then drop blood into the circles on a filter-paper card provided. Once the blood has dried, it can be sent to a laboratory for testing. Further details on our DBS testing kits can be found on our blog.
Numerous tests have been carried out by scientists regarding the accuracy of dried blood spot kits, and they have all found that a high level of accuracy is obtainable. This means that DBS testing is a practical and straightforward way to provide blood samples and a reliable method.
Case Study 1:
For the detection of HCV-RNA, a study was carried out by Vazques-Moron et al., and the pooled diagnostic accuracy measurements for anti-HCV antibodies in DBS samples were as follows: sensitivity of 97.8% and specificity of 99.2%1.
Case Study 2:
Another study was conducted by Morley et al. into how accurate DBS kits were at detecting SARS-CoV-2 in blood samples. The results showed that testing via DBS kits is comparable to serum samples with a relative 98.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity2.
Case Study 3:
This study was carried out by Amini et al. to analyse how effective DBS sampling is when measuring antibodies. The study found that the mean sensitivity was 98.8%, and the mean specificity was 95.4%3.
Many other studies have been conducted that highlight the accuracy of dried blood spot sampling for identifying numerous diseases, infections and biomarkers.
RDA Spot is revolutionizing dried blood spot kits with our high-quality, certified, and CE IVD-marked tests. The focus is on personal health testing, and DBS kits can be used to identify and measure many analytes for diagnostics, clinical toxicology and health and wellness sectors.
Aside from being a highly accurate method of providing a blood sample, DBS testing kits also have many other benefits.
Please contact us today for more information on our DBS collection kits or what applications they are suitable for.