Anaemia Flashcards
What is anaemia
Deficiency of haemoglobin in the blood
What are the 3 general causes of anaemia
reduced production
increased losses
increased demand
Why may there be reduced production
Bone marrow failure (reduced RBCs)
Normal production of RBC but reduced production of haemoglobin
What are causes of reduced haemoglobin production
deficiency states
abnormal global chains
chronic inflammatory conditions
What are the conditions that are caused by abnormal globin chains
thalassaemia
sickle cell
What are causes of an increased loss of blood
GI conditions
abnormal RBC resulting in RBC having a reduced life span
What are causes of increased demand
pregnancy as blood volume expanded
malignant disease as new tissue demands oxygen
What are the haematinics
iron
B12
folic acid
What are oral symptoms of iron deficiency
mouth ulcers, smooth tongue & angular cheilitis
What is an oral symptom of B12 deficiency
Deficiency symptoms include beefy tongue
What are symptoms of anaemia
Tired, weak
Dizzy
Shortness of breath
Palpitations
What investigations should be done for anaemia
full blood count
faecal occult blood test
endoscopy/colonoscopy
renal function test
What parts of the FBC are useful for anaemia diagnosis
haemoglobin level
mean cell volume
haematocrit
What cause does a below normal MCV (aka microcytic) point to
iron deficiency or thalassaemia
What cause does a above normal MCV point to?
B12 folate/deficiency or retics which is an almost mature red blood cell that is released early into circulation to replace losses
What cause does a normal MCV point to
bleed, renal problem or chronic disease
What does the haematocrit tell us
how much of the blood consists of RBC
What is the FOB for
testing for blood in faeces to detect chronic blood loss
What is the endoscopy/colonscopy for
Looking for signs of bleeding in GI tract
What is the renal function test for
Looking for chronic kidney disease as this is a cause of anaemia (caused by reduction in production of erythropoietin which is essential for RBC production)
What is the treatment for anaemia
Replace haematinics
Blood transfusion if production failure
Erythropoietin in renal cause
What is the dental relevance of anaemia
GA - dont do GA on px with anaemia unless emergency (risk of hypoxia)
All those from black ethnic background require sickle cell test before GA
