title: Global standardization of glycated hemoglobin measurement: the position of the IFCC Working Group.
abstract: The measurement of glycated hemoglobin is central in the monitoring of glycemic control in patients with diabetes. There are at least 30 different laboratory assays commercially available to measure the proportion of HbA1c in blood. In 1995 the IFCC established a Working Group (IFCC WG-HbA1c) to achieve international standardization of HbA1c measurement. The main achievements can be summarized as follows: a) a reference measurement procedure has been established with purified primary calibrators; b) a network of reference laboratories has been developed worldwide; and c) work has begun on implementation of traceability to the IFCC reference system. The IFCC WG-HbA1c recognizes the recommendation of the IFCC-IUPAC Committee on Nomenclature, Properties and Units that the analyte measured by the IFCC reference measurement procedure has been defined as betaN1-deoxyfructosyl-hemoglobin and that the recommended measurement units are mmol/mol. The IFCC WG-HbA1c recommends maintaining the use of the name HbA1c in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Metrological Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (CIRME), Dept. Science and Biomedical Technology, University of Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Goodall
authors.forename: Tadao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: Jan O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Jeppsson
authors.forename: W Garry
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Randie R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: Kor
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miedema
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reinauer
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Sacks
authors.forename: Cas W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Weykamp
mesh_terms: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012015:Reference Standards
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin