Objective: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a useful tool for the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus and generally an excellent marker of overall glycemic control for the preceding 8 to 12 weeks; however, the test is not without its pitfalls. A suspicion of falsely high or low HbA1c should prompt clinicians to evaluate for possible causes. Here, we present the novel use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in a case of a 49-year-old African American woman with discrepant HbA1c and self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG). CGM data suggested that the HbA1c values were falsely elevated, and subsequent evaluation led to a diagnosis of hemoglobin C (HbC) trait.
Methods: Case identified is described. Point-of-care (POC) and central laboratory HbA1c were measured on the Bayer DCA 2000 and Bio-Rad Variant II Turbo ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography platforms, respectively.
Results: The patient had an elevated POC HbA1c of 10.8% (95 mmol/mol) and a central laboratory HbA1c of 9.2% (77 mmol/mol). The patient's glucose meter measured an average glucose of 138 mg/dL. The Freestyle LibrePro professional CGM was used to investigate the reliability of the patient's SMBG and showed an average glucose of 165 mg/dL. An investigation into potential causes for falsely elevated HbA1c revealed a previously undiagnosed HbC trait.
Conclusion: CGM is a valuable tool to assess HbA1c and SMBG discordance and to guide subsequent diabetes management. Our results suggest that the HbA1c may have been overestimated in our patient due to HbC trait; therefore, results must be interpreted with caution.
Abbreviations: CGM = continuous glucose monitoring; HbA1c = hemoglobin A1c; HbC = hemoglobin C; HPLC = high-performance liquid chromatography; POC = point-of-care; SMBG = self-monitored blood glucose
