OBJECTIVE: Glycolated Hb is a valuable marker for identification and treatment of diabetics. It shows the mean of blood glucose level during the last 2-3 months. There are different methods (electrophoresis, colorimetry,...) for evaluation of this indicator with advantages or disadvantages for each. METHODS: This is a descriptive - analytical study that was done on patients referred to Shahid Beheshti hospital in Babol with their fasting blood samples collected. Also 30 persons were selected for evaluation of two methods (electrophoresis and colorimetly) for measurement of glycolated Hb in fasting and nonfasting conditions. FINDINGS: Mean of GHb by electrophoresis in fasting was 10.01% and in nonfasting was 11.04%. This marker by colorimetric method in fasting and nonfasting was 362.4 and 361.5 nmol/gHb respectively. The difference of GHb by electrophoresis between fasting and nonfasting conditions was significant (p<0.001), but for colorimetry was significant. CONCLUSION: GHb is a good marker of the mean value of glucose level for the recent 2-3 months of the individuals. Electrophoresis is a simple method, but regarding the findings taking the samples infasting is strictly recommended. Calorimetric method had not been influenced by the level of glucose at the time of sampling. But this method must be calibrated well.      

Background: HEMOGLOBIN (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) have been used routinely in the diagnosis of neonatal anemia and polycythemia. Objective: To measure the cord blood Hb and Hct and to determine their association with maternal Hb and Hct. Methods: 170 healthy neonates born through normal vaginal delivery with gestation age of 37-42 wks and birth weight of 2.5-4 kg, and their mothers were included in this cross-sectional study. Cord blood Hb and Hct of these infants and their mothers were measured by an electronic Coulter counter. Results: We studied 97 male and 73 female neonates. The mean cord blood Hb was 15.8 (range: 11 -21.4) g/dl, and Hct was 48% (range: 34%-63%). The mean±SD cord Hb of males (16.0±1.4 g/dl) was significantly (p<0.05) more than that of females (15.3±1.8 g/dl). Polycythemia (Hct>63%) was not found in any infants. However, 11.7% of newborns had an Hb<14 g/dl. Mean Hb of mothers was 12.3 g/dl.18% of mothers had an Hb<11 g/dl. No significant correlation could be found between cord Hb and parity, birth weight and maternal age. No association could be found between cord blood and maternal Hb. Nevertheless, anemic neonates were born more frequently to mothers with low Hb. Conclusion: We found that mean Hb in our newborns was less than previously reported values. Furthermore, we could find no correlation between cord and maternal Hb. Iran J Med Sci 2003; 28 (4):166-168.

Background: Single nucleotide mutations in a1 or a2 genes produce abnormal a-chain HEMOGLOBINs. HEMOGLOBIN Q disorders including HEMOGLOBIN Q-Iran, HEMOGLOBIN Q-Thailand, and HEMOGLOBIN Q-India are important HEMOGLOBIN variants. Herein, we report on the presence and hematologic and molecular features of HEMOGLOBIN Q-Iran [a75 (EF4) Asp®His] in 20 members of 11 families including nine children and HEMOGLOBIN Setif [a94 (G1) Asp®Tyr] in 10 individuals from five families consisting of five children and their affected parents living in western Iran. Methods: A polymerase chain reaction-RFLP procedure using Ava II restriction enzyme was designed to confirm the presence of two a-chain variants. To find the coinheritance with α- thalassemia, the presence of deletions of -a3.7, -a20.5, --MED, --SEA, and nondeletion defects of IVSI (-5 bp) and HEMOGLOBIN CS was examined using polymerase chain reaction-based approaches. Results: The mean±SD level of HEMOGLOBIN Q-Iran was 20.4±4.4%. Three out of 18 individuals with HEMOGLOBIN Q-Iran were heterozygous for -a3.7 deletion (-a3.7/aa). The coinheritance of HEMOGLOBIN Q-Iran and -a3.7 deletion resulted in significantly (P=0.002) higher levels of HEMOGLOBIN Q-Iran (26.7±3.8 %). In those heterozygous for HEMOGLOBIN Setif, the level of this HEMOGLOBIN was 17.8±5.6 %. Conclusion: The polymerase chain reaction-RFLP method described here is a simple, rapid, and inexpensive procedure for the diagnosis of abnormal a-chains in developing countries.

Introduction: HEMOGLOBIN (Hb) levels in fetus increase with progression of pregnancy, reaching highest levels in life. Hb serves as iron reserve in fetus and is needed for the infant to adapt with anemia. Many factors can decrease Hb levels at birth and lead to accelerated physiological anemia. Hence, the infant would require earlier administration of iron drops. Identification of these factors and immediate management is essential to child health. This study was performed to compare mean Hb levels in cord blood of neonate subjects with corresponding levels cited in Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics and their relationship, with, maternal Hb and delivery pattern. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, cord blood samples taken from 502 newborns in six months were evaluated. Simple sampling method was used. Premature neonates and those with low birth weight and high-risk deliveries were excluded. Data were analyzed with t-test using SPSS. Results: The mean Hb level of the studied group was 13.24±1.77 g/dl, which was significantly lower than corresponding parameters cited Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics (P value=0.000). Also, there was a significant, and direct correlation between Hb of umbilical cord blood'1 and maternal Hb and pattern of delivery. Hb levels in the umbilical cord blood of newborns delivered by cesarean section were lower than Hb levels of those with normal delivery. Conclusions: The results of this study show that Hb levels of cord blood in the studied population are lower than values cited in Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics; this is in direct relationship with low levels of maternal Hb which we studied for comparison with values cited in Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics (11.7 g/dl vs. 14 g/dl). Thus, newborn infants in our study (especially cesarean section newborns) are at greater risk of early and accelerated physiological anemia. Therefore we recommend further efforts to improve maternal nutrition before and during the gestational period, prescription of iron tablets, encouraging normal vaginal delivery, and early initiation of iron drops in the first few months of infancy.

Background: High maternal HEMOGLOBIN concentration has been increasingly linked to poor pregnancy outcomes in recent years. This study was aimed to determine whether high maternal HEMOGLOBIN (Hb) in first trimester is associated with preeclampsia.Materials and Methods: In 2009 a retrospective study was conducted and demographic and obstetric records of 1513 low risk pregnant mother registered to a staterun hospital in Tehran were studied. The association between first trimester HEMOGLOBIN concentration, BMI, Pregnancy weight gain, maternal age, and parity supplementation with calcium and/or multivitamin and preeclampsia was assessed in multiple logistic regression model.Results: The mean age of the studied mothers was 26.4±5.2 years. 54.1% of sample were nulliparous and 44.1% had a BMI>25 kg/m2, mean Hb concentration was 12.5±1.1 g/dl.5.6% of pregnancies were complicated by Preeclampsia. Results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that Hb concentration greater than 13.2g/dl (OR: 1.73, 95% IC: 1.07-2.81), BMI (OR: 1.58, 95% IC: 1.17-2.12) and calcium supplementation (OR: 0.38, 95% IC: 0.22-0.64) were significantly associated with preeclampsia.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that high Hb in the first trimester is related to subsequent preeclampsia. Prophylactic iron supplementation may increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes when mother does not have iron deficiency or IDA, therefore routine iron administration to women with high Hb values might be modified.

Dear Editor-in-Chief, The recent report on “The Adverse Effects of Pregnancies Complicated by HEMOGLOBIN H (HBH) Disease” is very interesting. Rabiee et al. reported a pregnant case complicated with HBH disease.Indeed, this problem might not common in the Middle East but it is very common in Southeast Asia.The authors hereby would like to share the experience on this topic. In the recent report by Tongsong et al., the maternal outcomes of normal mothers and those with HBH disease were not different. The common identified problems are fetal growth restriction, preterm birth and low birth weight.

Background and Objectives: Testing for HEMOGLOBIN is important in detection and prevention of anemia before and after blood donation respectively. Thus, HEMOGLOBIN screening test should have high sensitivity and accuracy for selection of blood donors.The present study aimed at comparative evaluation in measurement of HEMOGLOBIN by HEMOGLOBIN color scale (HCS) and reference method.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 144 female donors (the mean age of 33 ± 11) tested by Hb strips were found to be eligible for donation. In addition to the samples taken for Hb test, the second series of blood samples were also drawn from donors and were added to EDTA-coated tubes for measurement of HEMOGLOBIN by automated cell blood counter (Sysmex K-800) as a complementary measurement. The results obtained by the two methods were entered in SPSS statistical program (version 11.5) and analyzed statistically using Wilcoxon and Spearman correlation index.Results: Statistically remarkable differences were observed between the mean of Hb results by cell blood counter (12.8 gr/dl) and the mean obtained by Hb strip color scale (13.2 gr/dl) in female blood donors. So the median rates of Hb tested by Hb color scale and cell blood counter were 14 gr/dl and 12.8gr/dl, respectively. Pearson correlation index showed no significant correlation between the two methods of measurement.Conclusions: Results showed that there was a remarkable difference in HEMOGLOBIN levels as measured by the two methods. Therefore, the use of Hb color scale for blood donor screening may fail to detect anemic donors or those with potentiality for post-donation anemia. It is then recommended that donors with Hb>13 gr/dl in Hb color scale be retested by more precise and sensitive methods including Hemo Cue or cell blood counter.

Background: Anemia may be considered to be an independent risk factor for the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with renal failure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between blood HEMOGLOBIN level and retinopathy in diabetic patients with normal renal function tests.Methods: From 2009 to 2011, 1100 diabetic patients underwent retinal examination. Among them, 159 subjects were diagnosed to have DR and were compared with 318 diabetic subjects with normal retinal examination as the control group. The level of HEMOGLOBIN (Hb), Hb A1C, serum iron, ferritin, and total iron binding capacity were compared between these two groups.Results: Among the 159 patients with DR, 112 (70.4%) had mild to moderate no proliferative retinopathy (NPDR) and 47 (29.6%) had advanced retinopathy (severe NPDR or proliferative). The mean HEMOGLOBIN level in case and control group was 12.15±1.50 and 12.73±1.38 g/dl, respectively (p<0.001). Anemia was seen in 45.9% and 26.1% in the case and the control groups, respectively (p<0.001). Ferritin <15ng/ml was seen in 7.4% and 6.1% of patients with and without DR, respectively (p=0.8).Conclusion: The results show that diabetic patients with retinopathy have lower level of HEMOGLOBIN and higher frequency of anemia. It is suggested that the level of HEMOGLOBIN should be evaluated periodically in diabetic patients.