Screening of thalassemia in Hong Kong Chinese by HPLC method

Özet

The prevalence of $\alpha$-thalassemia and HbH disease are high in Hong Kong Chinese. The Bio-Rad VARIANT, a cation exchange HPLC method for HbA2, HbF and certain haemoglobin variants determination provide a rapid screening for thalassemia. In this study, the reference ranges of HbA2 and HbF in Hong Kong Chinese were first established for this analyser. It was 2.2-3.0% and 0-1.0% respectively which are similar to Caucasians. In addition, in agreement with the manufacturer's pilot study, the system was confirmed to be able to detect Hb-H. We have demonstrated a peak at 0.5 min observed in the chromatogram of all 30 HbH disease specimens. To conclude, HPLC method shows a similar reference range of HbA2 and HbF between the Hong Kong Chinese and the Caucasians. It also provides a rapid diagnosis of HbH disease which is common in south-east Asia. Manual determination of HbA2 using Bio-Rad Microcolumn HbA2 kit and Betke's manual method for HbF were comparable with the Bio-Rad VARIANT.