Screening of hemoglobinopathies in a cohort of newborns in Madrid

Congenital structural hemoglobinopathies are a group of disorders whose incidence has experienced an increase in recent years, due to the higher number of immigrants living in the Region of Madrid. Given the possibility of starting early prophylactic measures, it seems advisable to carry out an screening of hemoglobinopathies in this region. The objective of this work was to know the current incidence of hemoglobinopathies in the Hospital Clinico San Carlos and to analyze the more suitable laboratory diagnostic tests. An ambispective cohort study, with 3,365 newborns studied at the Hospital Clinico San Carlos from May 2003 to June 2004. All were studied by cation exchange HPLC [Variant (Bio-Rad)] and pathologic specimens were analyzed by reversed phase HPLC. Hemoglobinophaty was detected in 26 children with the HPLC Variant, with a global incidence of 7.7 per 1,000 newborns: 1 case of sickle cell disease, 18 cases of sickle cell trait, 1 HbC, 1 HbE/A2 and five indeterminate cases. Neonatal screening for hemoglobinopathies in the Region of Madrid is necessary, and the HPLC Variant is an appropriate technique.