Since the late 1970’s large numbers of HbA1c methods have been introduced into clinical practice, but there was obviously a significant difference in the results produced by different laboratories. Lack of standardization resulted in several countries developing National Standardization Programs including US (NGSP; National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program), Japan and Sweden. The IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine) implemented the international standardization for HbA1c.  Significant work has been done by each of these standardization programs and there remains a need to implement a harmonized procedure for reporting HbA1c measurements. 

During today’s webcast, we will learn about the nature of HbA1c formation, the outcomes of standardization efforts, and the quality of its measurements which are key to its use in clinical practice for either monitoring or diagnosis.

Who Should Attend:

• Laboratorians
• Endocrinologists
• Clinicians
• Metabolic Specialists

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how and why glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is formed.
• Explain how the concentration of HbA1c corresponds to a patients glycemic control (average blood glucose concentration).
• Identify the adverse effects of diabetes.
• Compare and contrast the traditional means of diagnosing diabetes (fasting blood glucose, two hour postprandial glucose, and glucose tolerance test) with HbA1c.
• Describe the international reference measurement system (RMS) for HbA1c.

Attend and receive FREE CE credits!