A Hemoglobinopathy That Produces an Array of Different Hemoglobin A1c Values

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) refers to non-enzymatically glycated hemoglobin and reflects the patient's glycemic status over approximately 3 months. An elevated HbA1c over 6.5% National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP) (48 mmol/mol the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC)) can be used to diagnose diabetes mellitus. In our laboratory, HbA1c is determined by ion-exchange chromatography which has the advantage of detecting common Hb variants such as Hb S, C, E and D without adversely affecting the HbA1c determination. Certain homozygous or compound heterozygous hemoglobinopathies such as homozygous sickle disease and Hb SC disease can significantly lower the HbA1c by reducing red cell lifespan. Occasionally however, rare and mostly benign hemoglobinopathies can interfere with this technique resulting in an apparent elevation of HbA1c in an otherwise non-diabetic patient. In this report, we describe such a hemoglobinopathy termed Hb Wayne that resulted in a significant HbA1c elevation in a normoglycemic individual. HbA1c was determined by multiple methods including immunoassay, a modified capillary electrophoresis and an alternative ion-exchange system. These techniques yielded significantly lower A1c results, more in keeping with the patient's clinical background. The alternative ion-exchange system resulted in a low A1c that was qualified by warning flags on the chromatogram that indicated the result was not reportable. The hemoglobinopathy in question, Hb Wayne, is a frameshift mutation in the alpha globin gene that results in an extended alpha globin polypeptide that can form two variants Hb Wayne I and Wayne II. Hb Wayne is a clinically silent asymptomatic disorder with no hematologic consequences. The artifactual elevation of HbA1c is, in contrast, very significant because it may result in a misdiagnosis of diabetes mellitus leading to unnecessary treatment. In this report, we compare our findings with other descriptions of Hb Wayne in the literature and corroborate a number of previous observations and conclusions.