Capillary Sampling in Clinical Populations Undergoing Monitoring (CAPSICUM)

Many people with long-term health conditions require regular blood tests to monitor their disease or medications. These blood tests are usually performed by taking blood from a vein during a hospital or clinic appointment. This can be inconvenient, time-consuming and difficult for some people, particularly those who live far from hospital, have reduced mobility, require frequent tests, or experience anxiety about attending healthcare settings or having blood taken.

Capillary blood sampling devices allow people to collect a small blood sample themselves, usually from the upper arm or fingertip, which can then be sent to a laboratory by post. These devices have shown promising results for some blood tests, but there is insufficient evidence of which tests remain accurate when samples are collected at home, posted to the laboratory and subjected to postage conditions and delayed analysis.

The CAPSICUM study will compare blood samples collected using patient-operated capillary sampling devices with routine venous blood samples already being taken as part of participants' usual clinical care. We will investigate whether a wide range of blood tests produce similar results using both methods and assess how delayed analysis, postal transport and home collection affect test accuracy.

Participants will attend only one study visit, which will take place during a routine clinic appointment. Some participants will also be invited to collect an additional blood sample at home and return it by post, and to complete a brief questionnaire about their experience.

The findings from this study will help identify which blood tests can be safely monitored using home capillary blood sampling. This could improve access to blood monitoring, reduce unnecessary hospital visits, make monitoring more convenient for patients, and support the development of safe, evidence-based remote monitoring pathways within the NHS.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Autoimmune Diseases; Chronic Kidney Disease; Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s)

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1000

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Richard Shemilt, MBChB; Phone Number: +441312427978; Email: rshemilt@ed.ac.uk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A maximum of 1000 participants will be recruited. The study aims to include approximately 200 participants from each of five clinical populations in which regular blood monitoring forms part of routine care and where remote capillary blood sampling has the potential to improve access to monitoring or patient experience:

• Patients with kidney disease
• Patients with immune-mediated disease
• Kidney, kidney-pancreas and islet transplant recipients
• Patients with mental health disorders requiring regular blood monitoring
• Children attending paediatric services who require regular blood monitoring

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Eligible participants are individuals who require routine venous blood sampling as part of their usual clinical care and who represent clinical populations in which remote capillary blood sampling may improve access to monitoring or patient experience.

All participants must:

• Be attending a routine clinical appointment during which venous blood sampling is planned as part of standard clinical care for disease monitoring or therapeutic drug monitoring.
• Be willing and able to undertake capillary blood sampling independently or with appropriate assistance.

Adult participants must:

• Be aged ≥18 years of age.
• Have capacity to provide written informed consent.

Paediatric participants must:

• Be aged 6-15 years of age.
• If aged 6-11, be attending with a parent or legal guardian able to provide written informed consent and provide age-appropriate assent where applicable.
• If aged 12-15: be attending with a parent or legal guardian able to provide written informed consent and provide age-appropriate assent where applicable OR if deemed to have capacity themselves, be able to provide written informed consent and be attending with a parent or legal guardian who agrees to their participation.

Additional eligibility criteria

Autoimmune disease group: participants must have a diagnosis of immune-mediated disease based on the assessment of their treating clinician.

Transplant recipient group: participants must be the recipient of a functioning kidney, kidney-pancreas, or islet transplant.

Mental health group: participants must have a diagnosis of a mental health disorder based on the assessment of their treating clinician.

Paediatric group: participants must be attending a paediatric clinic and require blood sampling as part of standard clinical care.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent, or, for paediatric participants, absence of parental or legal guardian consent or age-appropriate assent where applicable.
• Skin disease, infection, injury, or other local factors at the intended sampling site that would make capillary blood collection unsafe or impractical.
• Known allergy or hypersensitivity to any materials used in the capillary blood sampling devices.
• Inability to undertake the capillary sampling procedures independently or with appropriate assistance.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

5

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Patients with kidney disease	Diagnostic test: Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s); Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s)
Patients with immune-mediated disease; e.g. ANCA-associated vasculitis or systemic lupus erythematosus	Diagnostic test: Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s); Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s)
Kidney, kidney-pancreas and islet transplant recipients	Diagnostic test: Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s); Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s)
Patients with mental health disorders who experience barriers to conventional blood sampling	Diagnostic test: Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s); Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s)
Children requiring regular blood monitoring	Diagnostic test: Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s); Blood sampling with capillary sampling device(s)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
For each pre-defined analyte, the mean difference and 95% limits of agreement between paired capillary and venous blood sample results under immediate analysis conditions, assessed against predefined clinically acceptable limits of agreement.	From enrollment to end of study visit 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Mean difference and 95% limits of agreement following delayed analysis (24-48 hours).	From enrollment to end of study visit 1
Mean difference and 95% limits of agreement following delayed analysis after exposure to temperatures representative of routine postal transport.	Enrollment to end of study visit 1
Mean difference and 95% limits of agreement following unsupervised patient-led home collection and postal return.	Enrollment to end of study visit 1
Proportion of successful capillary sample collections and proportion of samples unsuitable for laboratory analysis, by analyte, patient group and sampling device.	Enrollment to end of study visit 1
Reasons for unsuccessful sample collection or laboratory rejection, where available	Enrollment to end of study visit 1
Participant acceptability, pain, ease of use and overall preference for capillary sampling compared with venepuncture, assessed using validated questionnaires.	Enrollment to end of study visit 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Edinburgh

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 28, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): September 3, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 3, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Male Urogenital Diseases; Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Chronic Disease; Disease Attributes; Immune System Diseases; Renal Insufficiency; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Autoimmune Diseases; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Investigative Techniques; Specimen Handling; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Punctures; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Blood Specimen Collection
• Other Study ID Numbers: AC26132

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No