Laboratory diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies

Diagnostic tests for most common hemoglobinopathies and recent advances in structural analysis of variant hemoglobins are reviewed. Routine and newly introduced methods that apply to the diagnosis of sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and the hemoglobin E disorders are presented. A brief description of the clinical course for each of these disorders is given, and potential pitfalls in diagnosis are discussed. Application of high-performance liquid chromatography and various mass spectrometric techniques (electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry, and tandem mass spectrometry) for evaluation of hemoglobinopathy is presented.