SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION

Diabetes

Low HbA1c levels in a poorly controlled diabetic

A R Vasudevan, S Ghosh, R Srivastava and L D K E Premawardhana

Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Caerphilly Miner’s Hospital, Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust, Caerphilly

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr L D K E Premawardhana, Department of Medicine, Caerphilly Miner’s Hospital, St Martin’s Road, Caerphilly CF83 2WW, UK;
Ldke.Premawardhana@gwent.wales.nhs.uk

Submitted 20 March 2002

Accepted 6 August 2002

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Answers on p 421.

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Keywords: diabetes; HbA1c; glycated haemoglobin

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A 52 year old man was referred to the diabetic clinic because of weight loss and persistent osmotic symptoms. He was diagnosed three years before presentation and was on diet therapy. His general practitioner was concerned that he had a "sinister cause" for his symptoms because his glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were "near normal" when repeated on several occasions (measured using the Menarini high performance liquid chromatography method, with a reference range of 4%–6%). He was in remission from Hodgkin’s disease. Initial clinical examination was unremarkable. Laboratory data were: haemoglobin 155 g/l, white cell count 4.81 x 10¹²/l (normal differential count), platelet count 214 x 10⁹/l; liver enzymes, renal function, and microalbuminuria screen were normal. Other results are shown in table 1.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   Table 1 Laboratory data

 

1. What do the data demonstrate?
   
2. What is the differential diagnosis and what would you do next?
   
3. What is the pathophysiological basis of . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Low HbA1c levels in a poorly controlled diabetic
Postgrad. Med. J. 2003 79: 421. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Smaldone, A. (2008). Glycemic Control and Hemoglobinopathy: When A1C May Not Be Reliable. Diabetes Spectr. 21: 46-49 [Full Text]