Asia Pacific World Diabetes Day Pitfalls in HbA1c Analysis and Reporting

For decades, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a critical biomarker for monitoring long-term glucose control in individuals with diabetes. More recently, it has been accepted as a diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of diabetes and pre-diabetes. However, the accurate measurement and reporting of HbA1c levels can be fraught with challenges, leading to potential misinterpretation and clinical mismanagement.

In this webinar, Dr. William Winter aims to elucidate the nuances and common pitfalls associated with HbA1c analysis, focusing on its accurate measurement and reporting in the presence of hemoglobin variants especially in populations with a high prevalence of hemoglobinopathies. His choice of HbA1c test method will be explained, along with real-life examples of Hb variant cases he has encountered, offering practical insights for laboratory professionals and clinicians.

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About the speaker:
William E. Winter, M.D.
Professor Emeritus, Department of Pathology
University of Florida

A native of San Francisco, Dr. Winter attended Santa Clara University in California majoring in chemistry. He received his medical degree from Loyola University of Chicago. Following a paediatric residency (University of Kentucky) and fellowship training in paediatric endocrinology (University of Florida, UF), Dr. Winter joined UF’s pathology department in 1984. Dr. Winter holds boards in paediatrics, paediatric endocrinology, chemical pathology (American Board of Pathology), and clinical chemistry (American Board for Clinical Chemistry). He is a fellow of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Academy of the Association for Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly: AACC).

Dr. Winter served as the Medical Director for Clinical Chemistry from 1993 to 2006 for Shands Hospital (now UF Health Shands Hospital), Medical Director for the Clinical Laboratory Support Services (CLSC – phlebotomy) from 2017-2023, and Medical Director for Point-of-Care testing from 2020-2023. He directed the pathology residency program twice (1992-1996 and 1998-2004) and directed many medical school courses. Prior to retiring as an Emeritus Professor in 2023, Dr. Winter was the principal investigator for the core laboratories for 3 NIH-funded grants: [1] the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet study, [2] TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young; including the Islet Autoantibody Standardization Program; IASP) and [3] the Rare and Atypical Diabetes Network (RADIANT).