Dried Blood Spot sampling in psychiatry: Perspectives for improving therapeutic drug monitoring

Assessment of drug concentrations is indicated to guide dosing of a selected number of drugs used in psychiatry. Conventionally this is done by vena puncture. Novel sampling strategies such as dried blood spot (DBS) sampling have been developed for various drugs, including antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood-stabilizers. DBS sampling is typically performed by means of a finger prick. This method allows for remote sampling, which means that patients are not required to travel to a health care facility. The number of DBS assays for drugs used in psychiatry has increased over the last decade and includes antidepressants (tricyclic and serotonin and/or norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), mood stabilizers and first- and second-generation antipsychotics. Available assays often comply with analytical validation criteria but are seldom used in routine clinical care. Little attention has been paid to the clinical validation and implementation processes of home sampling. Ideally, not only medicines but also clinical chemistry parameters should be measured within the same sample. This article reflects on the position of DBS remote sampling in psychiatry and provides insight in the requisites of making such a sampling tool successful.