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Dried blood spot measurement of pregnancy‐associated plasma protein A (PAPP‐A) and free β ‐subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin ( β ‐hCG) from a low‐resource setting
Author(s) -
Browne J. L.,
Schielen P. C. J. I.,
Belmouden I.,
Pennings J. L. A.,
KlipsteinGrobusch K.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.4578
Subject(s) - venipuncture , dried blood spot , human chorionic gonadotropin , dried blood , medicine , blood sampling , gonadotropin , pregnancy , pregnancy associated plasma protein a , immunoassay , obstetrics , fetus , endocrinology , first trimester , biology , chemistry , hormone , immunology , surgery , chromatography , antibody , genetics
Objectives The objectives of the article is to compare pregnancy‐associated plasma protein A (PAPP‐A) and free β ‐subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin ( β ‐hCG) concentrations in dried blood spots (DBSs) with serum of samples obtained from a public hospital in a low‐resource setting and to evaluate their stability. Methods Serum and DBS samples were obtained by venipuncture and finger prick from 50 pregnant participants in a cohort study in a public hospital in Accra, Ghana. PAPP‐A and β ‐hCG concentrations from serum and DBS were measured with an AutoDELFIA® (PerkinElmer, PerkinElmer, Turku, Finland) automatic immunoassay. Correlation and Passing–Bablok regression analyses were performed to compare marker levels. Results High correlation (>0.9) was observed for PAPP‐A and β ‐hCG levels between various sampling techniques. The β ‐hCG concentration was stable between DBS and serum, PAPP‐A concentration consistently lower in DBS. Conclusion Our findings suggest that β ‐hCG can be reliably collected from DBS in low‐resource tropical settings. The exact conditions of the clinical workflow necessary for reliable PAPP‐A measurement in these settings need to be further developed in the future. These findings could have implications for prenatal screening programs feasibility in low‐income and middle‐income countries, as DBS provides an alternative minimally invasive sampling method, with advantages in sampling technique, stability, logistics, and potential application in low‐resource settings. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.