OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of hemoglobin A(HbA) for screening thalassemia.

METHODSA total of 2 000 adults' peripheral blood samples from Guangdong Women and Children Hospital from June 2013 to January 2014 were collected. The hemoglobin A(HbA) level was analyzed by the full automatic capillary electrophoresis technique, and the genotypes of thalassemia were detected.

RESULTSThe optimal cutoff values of HbAfor screening silent α-thalassemia, α-thalassemia trait, intermedia α-thalassemia and β-thalassemia trait were 2.85%, 2.65%, 2.25% and 3.45%, respectively; the areas under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve were 0.709, 0.839, 0.979 and 0.997 respectively; the sensitivities were 0.481, 0.721, 0.953 and 0.994, and the specificities were 0.846, 0.837, 0.929 and 0.969 respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe optimal cutoff values of HbAfor screening different type of thalassemia based on our laboratory data are established by using ROC curve. According to the area under ROC curve, a satisfactory accuracy for screening intermedia α-thalassemia and β-thalassemia trait can be achieved by detecting hemoglobin Alevel.