Validation of the Hem-Col capillary blood collection system for routine laboratory analyses

At home collection of capillary blood using Hem-Col tubes (Labonovum) could offer a solution to patients with chronic conditions, who require frequent laboratory analyses. The collection tubes contain a conservation buffer to stabilize analytes for up to 5 days. In this validation study it was investigated whether analytes are measured accurately in Hem-Col tubes 5 days after collection. Forty-six healthy volunteers donated blood via venepuncture as well as capillary blood by finger prick using Hem-Col tubes. The analytes were measured within 2 h for the venepuncture and after 120 h for the Hem-Col method. The results of each analyte were analysed using Passing-Bablok regression analyses. The analytes that met the predefined acceptance criteria were total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). HDL-cholesterol, C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin, bilirubin total, creatinine, gGT and triglycerides met two out of three acceptance criteria. All other analytes did not meet the predefined criteria. The Hem-Col method is suitable for the measurement of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). However, due to this limited set of valid tests and practical limitations, routine application of this novel collection system in daily practice is limited.