How Relİable Hba1c Is In Anemic Patients? Two Different Perspectives

Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and anemia are prevalent around the world. The possibility of these two diseases co-existing is also very high. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is used to diagnosed and monitor DM. Incorrect measurements of HBA1c will cause patients to be misdiagnosed as DM or to follow-up DM patients incorrectly. Conditions affecting the turnover of erythrocytes may cause inaccurate HBA1c measurement. In this study, a case of a 33-year-old patient diagnosed with Type 1 DM due to hemolytic anemia, which was misdiagnosed due to falsely low HBA1c value, and an 18-year-old patient misdiagnosed as DM due to falsely high HBA1c value stemming from iron deficiency anemia are presented. The reliability of HBA1c in the diagnosis and follow-up of DM is discussed.