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Assessing vitamin D nutritional status: Is capillary blood adequate?
M E Jensen1, F M Ducharme2, Y Théorêt3
1Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases, School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
Summary
Finger-prick capillary blood is adequate for measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) using LC/MS-MS. This method shows excellent agreement with venous blood, making it a viable alternative for pediatric vitamin D testing.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Chemistry
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Venous blood is standard for biomarker measurement, but challenging in young children.
- Finger-prick capillary blood offers a less invasive alternative for sample collection.
- Validation of capillary blood for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) quantification is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the use of capillary blood sampling for 25OHD measurement.
- To compare 25OHD concentrations in venous versus capillary blood using LC/MS-MS.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous collection of venous and capillary blood from children with asthma and healthy adults.
- Quantification of 25OHD using an in-house liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) method.
Main Results:
- High correlation (r²=0.9963) observed between venous and capillary blood 25OHD concentrations.
- Mean difference (bias) was 2.0 nmol/l (95% CI: -7.5, 11.5), indicating excellent agreement.
- Venous 25OHD values ranged from 23 to 255 nmol/l.
Conclusions:
- Capillary blood sampling is adequate for 25OHD measurement by LC/MS-MS.
- No clinically significant bias was found between venous and capillary serum 25OHD concentrations.
- This supports capillary blood as a suitable alternative for pediatric vitamin D assessment.
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