Capitainer is proud to see its blood self-sampling technology featured in leading healthcare publications in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
The articles, which were published in Dialäsen (Sweden), Dagens Medisin (Norway) and Nefrologisk Tidsskrift (Denmark), highlight a major study carried out in Norway last year, which found that Capitainer’s volumetric dried blood spot sampling device, Capitainer®B, is suitable for routine monitoring of kidney transplant patients.
The Norwegian study was carried out at University Hospital Oslo and University of Oslo and was led by Head of the Clinical Pharmacology Nils Tore Vethe. The findings were published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology in an article entitled: ‘Clinical performance of volumetric finger-prick sampling for the monitoring of tacrolimus, creatinine and haemoglobin in kidney transplant recipients’.
As summarised in Dialäsen, which is a prominent Swedish magazine for healthcare staff within transplantation and kidney care, 25 adult kidney transplant patients of Oslo University Hospital were monitored in the study. Each patient’s blood was sampled in three ways: venous blood was collected by a trained phlebotomist, finger-prick blood was collected by the patient using the Capitainer®B device under supervision, and finger-prick was blood collected by the patient at home without supervision.
Each blood sample was then tested for tacrolimus (an immunosuppressive drug), as well as creatinine and haemoglobin (markers of kidney health), which represents the full standard panel used to monitor kidney transplant patients in hospital settings. Speaking with Norway’s magazine for healthcare personnel Dagens Medicin, Nils Tore Vethe emphasised the importance of precise sampling and analysis when monitoring tacrolimus levels in the blood of transplanted patients, to avoid under- and overdosing.
The study found that for tacrolimus measurements and predicted area under the curve, the proportions within ±20% difference were 79%-96% for Capitainer and 77%-95% for another marketed volumetric device known as Mitra®. For creatinine and haemoglobin, the proportions within ±15% were 92%-100% and 93%-100% for Capitainer and 79%-96% and 67%-92% for Mitra, respectively. Furthermore, sampling success was consistent for Capitainer (92%-96%), while sampling success with Mitra® was 72%-88% and 52%-72% when collected by healthcare professionals and patients themselves, respectively.
In an interview with the Danish Nephrology Journal ‘Nefrologisk Tidsskrift’, Karsten Midtvedt, who is a nephrologist at the transplant centre in Oslo University Hospital, highlights that Norway is the ideal place to test the potential for at-home self-testing, where transplant patients currently have to travel long distances for testing at Oslo University Hospital, which is the only hospital in Norway to carry out kidney transplants. At present, all kidney transplant patients must stay in Oslo for eight weeks after transplantation surgery, for follow-up and close monitoring. Karsten stresses that this time could be used to train those patients in testing themselves at home, who could then continue self-testing in close contact with their local doctor.
Importantly, this was the first self-sampling study to include the full standard panel for kidney transplant patients, and it demonstrates that self-sampling can be included in the aftercare regime for kidney transplant patients, to improve their life quality by reducing the number of follow-up hospital visits, improving treatment success and compliance, while easing the burden of regular monitoring on healthcare services.
In Dagens Medisin, Nils Tore Vethe highlights the positive impact that self-sampling can have on patient quality of life. According to him, Oslo University Hospital already has a limited system for measuring tacrolimus in home tests, but these new study results, they hope to expand this during the next year to include additional sampling tools and biomarkers.
Links to news articles in their original language:
Egenprovtagning för njurtransplanterade ger bra resultat (Dialäsen, 21February 2024 – article in Swedish)
Fingerpriktest er effektiv til hjemmemonitorering af nyretransplanterede (Nefrologisk Tidsskrift, 21 December 2023 – article in Danish)
Studie: Nyretransplanterte klarer å ta blodprøver selv – og kvaliteten er god (Dagens Magasin, 7 December 2023 – article in Norwegian)
To read more about the study, see our publication highlight:
About kidney transplantation
More than 90,000 kidney transplantations are performed globally each year, making the kidney the most commonly transplanted organ. As people live longer and the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and hypertension increases, the demand for kidney transplants is expected to rise continuously. Those who are lucky enough to receive a transplant in time require life-long blood tests to ensure that the transplant is not rejected by their immune system, that the patient complies with the prescribed medication schedule, and to monitor infection risk and medication side effects. This need for regular testing has a negative impact on patient quality of life, which may lead to non-compliance, and places a major burden on healthcare systems.