Anemia Flashcards
What is anemia?
Decrease in the red blood cells mass that results in decrease oxygen to the tissue
What causes anemia?
Increased RBC destruction Hemorrhage Decrease in production
What are some general clinical signs of anemia?
Tachypnea, Dyspnea, Pale MM, Tachycardia, Lethargy, Exercise intolerance, and Heart murmur
What symptom would you want to treat first? How?
Dyspnea by giving oxygen
What three schemes are used to classify anemia?
Bone marrow response Erythrocyte size and hemoglobin concentration Pathophysiologic mechanism
What is the bone marrow response
regenerative and non-regenerative
What will you see with regenerative anemia?
nRBC’s, polychromasia, increased retics, howell jolly bodies (cats), macrocytosis
Blood loss anemia’s may also have reduced what?
plasma protein, serum protein, albumin, and globulin levels
What is non-regenerative anemia?
lack of circulating immature RBC’s
What are some causes of reversible or irreversible anemia?
Drugs (immunosuppressive) - reversible Chemicals - reversible Radiation - reversible Cancer - depends if cure Viruses (FeLV) - irreversible Immune Mediated Destruction of stem cells
What does MCV stand for?
mean corpuscular vol - size
What does increased MCV mean?
macrocytic anemia - indicated immature cells
What does decrease MCV mean?
microcytic anemai - iron deficiency
What does normal MCV mean?
normocytic anemia - blood loss or destruction
In what species do you need to RBC indices?
Dogs
What information do you need to do RBC indices?
PCV, hemoglobin, RBC count
What will a lab evaluation of anemia look like?
RBC count (low), Hgb (low), PCV (low), Total protein (low), evaluate RBC morphology, Reticulocyte count
What does MCHC stand for?
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration - color
What does MCH stand for?
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin - average weight of hgb in a RBC
What does decreased MCHC mean?
hypochromic - iron deficency
What does increase MCHC mean?
well-filled
How do you calculate MCHC?
Hgb X 100 / PCV
What are the normal values for MCHC in a dog?
32-36 g/dl
What are the normal values for MCHC in a cat?
30-36 g/dl
What does decreased MCV mean?
microcytic
What does increase MCV mean?
macrocytic
What are the normal values of MCV in a dog?
60-77 fl
What are the normal values of MCV in a cat?
39-55 fl
How do you calculate MCV?
PCV x 10 / RBC
What RBC indice is least accurate and least reliable?
MCH
How do you calculate MCH?
hgb x 10 / RBC
What are the normal values of MCH in a dog?
19.5 - 24.5 pg
What are the normal values of MCH in a cat?
12.5-17.5 pg
What does decrease MCH mean?
microcytic and hypochromic
What does increased MCH mean?
macrocytic and hypochromic
When is MCH mainly used?
To check MCHC and MCV
What is the formula to correct nRBC’s
100 X actual WBC count / (100 + nRBC counted)
What will nRBC’s do to our WBC count?
Artificially inflate our WBC count
When do you have to use the correction formula for nRBC’s?
When 5 or more are counted
What are the two different forms of retic’s a cat can produce? What one do you count?
Punctate - DO NOT count Aggregate - COUNT
T or F. Aggregate reticulocytes have many small granules.
True
T or F. Punctate have few small granules.
True
Polychromatophils
nRBC’s
Reticulocyte
Aggregate Retics
Punctate Retics
Heinz Bodies
Basophilic stippling
