(EMA)binding testby flowcytometry
Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is the most common hemolytic anemia of congenital origin The hallmark of laboratory test for the diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis (HS) has been osmotic fragility (OF) test. However, OF test gives false negative results in 10% - 20% of HS patients and false positive results in autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) patients Recently, the eosin 5′-maleimide (EMA) binding test has been used as a screening test and has been reported as a new diagnostic tool for HS Flow cytometric analysis of eosin-5-maleimide (EMA)-labeled intact red blood cells (RBC's) has a high sensitivity and specificity for red cells of hereditary spherocytosis (HS) The diagnostic accuracy of the EMA test is >90% Concomitant testing with two methods — the EMA test and the acidified glycerolysis test (AGLT) — can diagnose 100% of patients with hereditary spherocytosis
