Hb Bart’s and Hb E in cord blood : analysis using two automated Hb analyzers

Abstract

At present, an automated hemoglobin (Hb) analyzer has been used widely for determining the Hb profiles. The aim of this study was to compare Hb Bart ‘s and Hb E levels obtained from the 2 different automated-HPLC-analyzers. One hundred and seventy-nine cord blood samples suspected of having Hb Bart’s and Hb E determined by the Primus CLC 330 (Primus Corp, MO, USA.) were recruited. These samples were analyzed again by the Variant Hemoglobin Testing System (Bio-Rad Laboratories, CA, USA.) in which the data processor was modified to quantify the amount of Hb Bart’s. All samples were investigated for α-thalassemia 1 (SEA and THAI deletions), α-thalassemia 2 (3.7 and 4.2 kb deletions), Hb Constant Spring (Hb CS) and Hb Paksé as well as Hb E genes. Analysis of the difference-values of Hb Bart’s and Hb E levels obtained from the 2 systems revealed a median (95% CI) of -0.2 (-0.3, -0.1) for Hb Bart’s and -0.15 (-0.3, -0.05) for Hb E indicating that these values were significantly different (P < 0.001 for Hb Bart’s and P = 0.008 for Hb E; Wilcoxon sign rank test). Comparison of Hb Bart’s and Hb E levels according to the thalassemia genotypes showed a lower trend of the values obtained from the Primus in almost all genotypes. However, statistical analysis of Hb Bart’s in a group of α-thalassemia 1 newborns showed no significant difference (11.7 ± 2.0 % vs 12.1 ± 2.5 %). The results indicated that Hb Bart’s level obtained from these 2 systems might be used comparatively for screening of α-thalassemia 1 in newborns.