EuromedLab 2023, Rome.
Title: Comparing TASSO+ Against Venipuncture Collection in Allergy Testing in FX05 and SX01 using NOVEOS Immunoassay Instrument
E. I. Laderman, M. Perez, A. Cruz Campos, B. Braddock, C. Bouz
Introduction
Venipuncture is currently the most widely accepted method of obtaining patient sample for allergy testing. In diagnostic allergy testing, a larger sample volume is required in order to perform a variety of allergen-specific IgE tests. The NOVEOS immunoassay analyzer utilizes a 4 µL sample size for allergy testing which allows for the use of microsampling collection devices that are less invasive and more easily accessible. The TASSO+ is an example of a single-use capillary blood collection device that can draw up to 600 µL of whole blood into a microcontainer that can separate serum and may contain clot activators.
Methods
Venipuncture and TASSO+ device collections from 34 volunteers were collected and analyzed on the NOVEOS system at Eurofins Biomnis (Lyon, France). The samples were tested for both FX05 (general food mix) and SX01 (inhalant screen), in which qualitative results were converted and reported using Standard Arbitrary Units (SAU).
Results
Out of 34 volunteers, 33 TASSO+ devices operated successfully and results showed a 100% (9/9) positive agreement and a 98.2% (55/56) negative agreement to the venipuncture collection. A combined regression analysis of both mixes demonstrated a Passing-Bablok slope of 1 and y-intercept of 0. The two collection methods had a correlation of r = 0.999.
Conclusion
This study illustrates the ability of the NOVEOS instrument to be compatible with microsampling blood collection devices like the TASSO+ alongside venipuncture collection. Because of its 4 µL sample size, the NOVEOS instrument can generate results for more than 25 allergens from one collection, resulting in a complete allergy profile for the patient. This higher yield of results per collection using a pain-free device represents an option that can lower the barrier to allergy testing, especially in pediatric populations.