Here, we present a through-the-wall, minimally invasive method to sample blood during sleep in clinical settings.
Method Article
* These authors contributed equally
Here, we present a through-the-wall, minimally invasive method to sample blood during sleep in clinical settings.
Physiological rhythms, including diurnal and circadian rhythms, play a critical role in health, with disturbances increasingly linked to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. These rhythms are closely tied to sleep-wake cycles, as changes in sleep timing or duration can alter diurnal and circadian rhythms, thereby disrupting physiological homeostasis. Additional factors, such as the timing of behaviors like food intake and/or physical activity, may modulate 24-h rhythms in manners that support health or promote chronic disease risk.
Despite the growing recognition of the importance of biological rhythms, obtaining serial blood samples required to elucidate patterns in circulating factors remains a significant challenge in clinical research. Routine blood draw methods can be disruptive to sleep, potentially altering sleep and biological rhythms and subsequently influencing variables of interest. This underscores the need for minimally invasive approaches that allow for the assessment of 24-h biological processes without disturbing sleep or biological rhythms.
To address these challenges, many clinical and research groups employ a technique known as a "through-the-wall" blood sampling method. This approach uses extended tubing connected to an indwelling catheter, threaded through a wall or partition to a location outside the participant's room. By enabling blood collection without having to enter the room, this method minimizes disruptions, thereby preserving the integrity of the 24-h profiles of circulating variables of interest and minimally disturbing sleep.
Here, we provide a detailed description of the through-the-wall blood sampling method and demonstrate its feasibility and efficacy in collecting blood samples during scheduled sleep opportunities. Representative data from a clinical study are presented, and additional considerations, including the impact of a difficult blood draw on sleep architecture, are discussed.
Diurnal and circadian rhythms are biological cycles involved in the regulation of physiologic, metabolic, and behavioral processes over 24 h. Diurnal rhythms are biological patterns that follow a day/night cycle and are driven by environmental or behavioral cues. In contrast, circadian rhythms are near 24-h cycles in biology driven by an intrinsic network of molecular clocks, independent of external cues (note: a detailed explanation of circadian clocks is beyond the scope of this article; interested readers are directed to Cox et al.1 for further information and Broussard et al.2 for a discussion of clinical circadian protocols). Both diurnal and circadian rhythms play critical roles in health, with disruptions associated with increased risks for developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes3,4. This understanding is rooted in decades of research involving time series measurements in controlled laboratory conditions. Results from such studies have helped distinguish between endogenous circadian influences and external environmental or behavioral effects on biological processes and their roles in maintaining physiological homeostasis2,5. This body of work laid the foundation for more recent translational research investigating the impact of sleep and circadian timing of behaviors on health-related outcomes6,7,8,9.
Hormones and metabolic factors exhibit distinct 24-h oscillations. Melatonin, for example, rises during the biological night and remains low during the biological day10. In contrast, the cortisol rhythm is characterized by suppression during the early part of the biological night, followed by a surge before awakening11, which is altered during sleep deprivation12. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) rises in the biological evening and is suppressed during sleep13. The TSH rhythm is disrupted during sleep deprivation, leading to increased TSH levels during the biological night14. Rhythmic patterns of several other circulating factors are similarly impacted by sleep-wake cycles. For example, growth hormone (GH) secretion is closely tied to slow-wave sleep (SWS), with a pronounced release shortly after sleep onset, especially in men15. Furthermore, GH secretion in conjunction with increased glucagon during sleep helps accommodate the prolonged overnight fast and leads to reduced glucose utilization to maintain stable blood glucose levels and prevent hypoglycemia16. Similar in pattern to GH, prolactin rises sharply after sleep onset and peaks midway through the sleep period, with similar rises occurring during daytime naps17,18. Additional circulating factors that exhibit 24-h rhythms include adrenocorticotropic hormone, luteinizing hormone, glucose, and insulin (for a more comprehensive summary, see Hanlon et al.5).
Many circulating factors involved in hunger, appetite regulation, and energy balance also exhibit fluctuations over the 24-h period. Ghrelin, which stimulates hunger, peaks before meals and declines during the nocturnal sleep period, while leptin, a satiety hormone, rises at night, likely suppressing hunger during the overnight fast19. Other metabolic signals, such as free fatty acids, endocannabinoids, and satiety peptides like GLP-1 and PYY, exhibit variations that are influenced by both sleep and eating patterns19,20,21,22.
Taken together, the oscillations outlined above illustrate the complex interplay among sleep, circadian processes, and physiological homeostasis which can only be fully appreciated by profiling the 24-hour circulating patterns of relevant physiological variables.
Elucidation of 24-h rhythms of circulating factors is essential for understanding daily fluctuations in physiological function, as well as how sleep and circadian disruption impact health. However, traditional blood sampling methods can interfere with the very processes that drive and regulate these rhythms23, highlighting the need for minimally invasive approaches that allow for accurate insights into 24-h profiles.
Therefore, the goal of this methods article is to describe in sufficient detail the steps involved in reliably obtaining frequent blood samples over 24 h from human research participants using a through-the-wall blood sampling technique. The described technique, employed by many sleep and circadian laboratories20,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36, addresses technical challenges involved in collecting blood samples during sleep. In the following sections, the technique itself is described with a supplemental video demonstration. In addition, representative data from a clinical study utilizing the method are presented. Finally, the article closes with a discussion of the limitations, pitfalls, and important considerations of using the method in clinical research.
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The methods described in this paper are used in protocols currently approved by the Institutional Review Board of Colorado State University and the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board. Representative data were derived from such studies for which written informed consent was obtained before participation. All supplies and equipment used are listed in the Table of Materials. Additional method considerations are presented in the discussion.
1. Setup and attachment of the extension line
NOTE: Prior to any clinical procedure, appropriate hand hygiene must be performed using a solution with a minimum of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Personal protective equipment (PPE), including but not limited to gloves, lab coats, and closed-toe shoes, must be worn at all times.
2. Sampling blood through the extension line
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24-h Melatonin using through-the-wall blood sampling during sleep
The method described above allows for the assessment of 24-h patterns of circulating factors that would otherwise be missed by a single time-point sample. Melatonin, a hormone frequently measured by through-the-wall blood sampling, serves as the most widely accepted surrogate for assessing the rhythm of the central circadian clock, which resides in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the anterior hypothalamus. Because direct access to...
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The through-the-wall blood sampling method presented here is widely used in sleep and circadian research to collect blood during sleep with minimal participant disturbance. The procedures described -- including preparation, setup, and use of the extension line -- have broad applications in both clinical and research settings. By employing this technique, researchers can successfully obtain blood samples over a 24-h period, including during scheduled sleep. Furthermore, polysomnography (PSG) confirms that under ideal cond...
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The authors have nothing to diclose.
This research was supported in part by T32HL149646 to GSM and R01DK125653 and R01HL168081 to JLB. We would also like to thank Stephanie Laing RN, BSN, a Professional Research Nurse with the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Clinical Translational Research Center for reviewing the methods and providing insights and edits to the final version of this manuscript.
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| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9-in Standard-Bore IV Extension Set with 1 mL Priming Volume, Removable SmartSite Needle-Free Connector, Slide Clamp and Spin Male Luer Lock | Medline | IME22059EH | |
| 0.9% Sodium Chloride injection USP 10 mL in a 10 mL flush syringe ZR | Excelsior Medical | EMZE010001 | |
| Alcohol prep pad | Medline | MDS090737 | |
| BD Insyte Autoguard Winged 20 G catheter | Medline | 381534 | |
| BD Plastipak 3 mL syringe | Fischer Scientific | 309657 | |
| CoFlexNL | Medline | 5200CP | |
| IV extension set 192 in, smallbore tubing | ICU Medical | B2202 | It is necessary to create an account with ICU medical to order supplies |
| Non-woven gauze sponges | Medline | NON25223 | |
| Tegaderm | Medline | 1624W | |
| Ultra(TM) 3-way stockcockw/swivel male luer lock | Medline | MX2311L |
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