In Malaysia, hemoglobinopathy Hb E is prevalent with 5 to 46% were carrier . Hence most of transfusion dependent thalassemia were compound heterozygous HbE/ Beta thalassemia.
The purpose of this study is to screen HbE syndrome from cord blood using cappilary electrophoresis (CE) .
A cross sectional study was done by collecting cord blood samples from newborns born in HUSM. Consent was obtained from the mothers before delivery. Haemoglobin analyses was performed by using CE
(Sebia CAPILLARYS2).
Of 300 samples examined, the common types of hemoglobin found in term gestational cord blood : HbA/F (189) , HbAFA2 (60),and HbAFE (32).
Hb E syndrome was detected in 33 (11%) by CE.
Those with HbE syndrome, mean level of HbA and HbA2 was 9.9 ᆂ 4.9 %.and 2.5% respectively. Those without HbE peak, HbA and HbA2 was 20.5ᆂ 5.6 % and 0.3 ᆂ 0.2 % respectively. 12.5% of HbE syndrome has HbA of less than 5% which may need to exclude compound heterozygote HbE/Beta
In conclusion, screening for HbE syndrome in cord blood sampling by CE has an advantage for an early detection of cases suspecting compound heterozygote. Further follow up and molecular testing on these selected patients are recommended.