In this study, we investigated the correlations between biochemical and hematological test results obtained using microliter-scale fingertip blood samples collected with a newly developed blood collection device and those obtained using conventional venous blood. Eighty volunteer subjects were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were drawn from the fingertip of the ring finger by a single puncture, and 60-µL samples were promptly and accurately aspirated into a blood collection chip. Then the chip was tightly sealed in a chip container and was shaken to mix the contents without dispersion. For biochemical tests other than that for HbA1c, blood was collected without anticoagulant and centrifuged to obtain 15 µL of serum which was then diluted with 190 µL of physiological saline for the assay. For hematological tests and the test for HbA1c, the sample was assayed with blood collected using EDTA-2 K. Good correlations were obtained between the test results of the assay using fingertip blood and that using venous blood. The correlation coefficients were ≥0.97 for TG, T-CHO, HDL-C, LDL-C, GLU, ALT, γ-GTP, UA, BUN, and HbA1c and ≥0.95 for WBC, RBC, Hgb, and Hct. These results suggest that our microliter-scale blood testing system is comparable to assays using venous blood and may be useful as a rapid and simple test to determine basic clinical parameters that are close to the reference intervals.
While plasma arginase-1 has been suggested as a biomarker of mental status in healthy individuals, it has not been evaluated in patients with chronic liver disease. This cross-sectional study investigated the utility of plasma arginase-1 for screening mental status in patients with chronic liver disease. This study included outpatients with chronic liver disease who underwent regular check-ups at Okayama University Hospital between September 2018 and January 2019. In addition to the standard blood tests, the plasma arginase-1 level was analyzed. The patients’ mental status was assessed using the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28). The associations between mental status and various parameters, including plasma arginase-1, were investigated using logistic regression analysis. Among 114 participating patients, 8 were excluded, comprising 6 with insufficient blood samples for plasma arginase-1 measurement and 2 with incomplete questionnaires. Multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that plasma arginase-1 was significantly and negatively associated with the GHQ-total score, especially somatic symptoms. Therefore, plasma arginase-1 may be a useful biomarker for assessing the mental status of outpatients with chronic liver disease.
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