How to report HbA1c in presence of hemoglobin variants
AUTORI
1Medicina di Laboratorio, ULSS 8 Berica, Vicenza (IT)
2Dipartimento di Fisiopatologia medico-chirurgica e dei trapianti, Università degli Studi di Milano (IT)
3Centro regionale di riferimento per la Sicurezza e Qualità in Laboratorio, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, Firenze (IT)
ABSTRACT
How to report HbA1c in presence of hemoglobin variants
Measurement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has a key-role in the management of diabetic patients. Clinicians need reliable and accurate measurements, with negligible pre-analytical and post-analytical errors. Among the preanalytical variables, the presence of hemoglobin variants is a challenge to the laboratorians, both on pre-analytical and analytical phase. The purpose of this document is to give some practical advices on how to report HbA1c values in presence of hemoglobin variants. This is an update of a previously reported document, published in 2011. The list of the most diffused method for measuring HbA1c has been updated, and the most recent enzymatic assays have been included. A new aspect concerns the post-analytical phase, in which we recommend to report the presence of the hemoglobin variant in the final laboratory report
