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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, November 2000, p. 882-884, Vol. 7, No. 6
Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Departments of Medicine and
Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine,
Houston, Texas1; and EPI, Stony Brook, New
York3; Chematics, Inc., North Webster,
Indiana4; and Department of Faculty Therapy, Almaty
State Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan2
Received 3 April 2000/Returned for modification 14 June
2000/Accepted 25 July 2000
Studies are difficult in areas lacking modern facilities due to the
inability to reliably collect, store, and ship samples. Thus, we sought
to evaluate the use of a dry plasma collection device for
seroepidemiology studies. Plasma was obtained by fingerstick using a
commercial dry plasma collection device (Chemcard Plasma Collection
Device) and serum (venipuncture) from individuals in Kazakhstan. Plasma
samples were air dried for 15 min and then stored desiccated in foil
zip-lock pouches at 4 to 6°C and subsequently shipped to the United
States by air at ambient temperature. Serum samples remained frozen at
1071-412X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Use of a Dry-Plasma Collection Device to Overcome
Problems with Storage and Transportation of Blood Samples for
Epidemiology Studies in Developing Countries
20°C until assayed. Helicobacter pylori status was
determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (HM-CAP EIA) for the
dry plasma and the serum samples. The results were concordant in 250 of
the 289 cases (86.5%). In 25 cases (8.6%), the dry plasma samples
gave indeterminate results and could not be retested because only one
sample was collected. Five serum samples were positive, and the
corresponding dry plasma samples were negative; one serum sample was
negative, and the corresponding plasma sample was positive. The
relative sensitivity and specificity of the Chemcard samples to serum
were 97.6 and 97.9%, respectively, excluding those with indeterminate
results. Repeated freeze-thawing had no adverse effect on the accuracy
of the test. We found the dry plasma collection device to provide an
accurate and practical alternative to serum when venipuncture may be
difficult or inconvenient and sample storage and handling present
difficulties, especially for seroepidemiologic studies in rural areas
or developing countries and where freeze-thawing may be unavoidable.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Veterans Affairs
Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd. (111-D), Houston, TX 77030. Phone: (713) 791-1414. Fax: (713) 790-1040. E-mail:
dgrahamm{at}bcm.tmc.edu.
| Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. | Clin. Microbiol. Rev. | Infect. Immun. |
|---|---|---|
| J. Clin. Microbiol. | J. Virol. | ALL ASM JOURNALS |