Anemia Flashcards
Labs in IDA
dec serum iron
inc total iron-binding capacity
dec ferritin
reduction below normal in hgb or RBC
anemia
Symptoms of anemia
Pale skin, mucous membranes Jaundice (if hemolytic) Tachycardia Breathlessness Dizziness Fatigue
atrophic glossitis
red swollen tongue w/ misshapen papillae
megaloblastic anemia
koilonychia
spoon shaped nails
IDA
jaundice
yellow tinge in sclera/skin d/t excess bile
hemolytic anemia
3 ways to get anemia
Lose blood
Destroy too much blood
Make too little blood
Reasons for destroying too much blood (vague)
Intracorpuscular vs extracorpuscular
Reasons to make too little blood
Too few building blocks
Too few erythroblasts
Not enough room
three morphological groups of anemia
weird size
weird shape
normal size and shape
which anemias are “Weird size”
IDA
Thalassemia
Megaloblastic
Most important cause IDA
GI bleeding
Microcytic, hypochromic anemia
IDA
also thalassemia
IDA is a ____cytic, _____chromic anemia
microcytic
hypochromic
IDA has increased ____ and _____ (morphology), and _____ (lab)
anisocytosis and poikilocytosis
abnormal iron studies
most of our iron is in
hgb
Iron absorption
duodenum/proximal jejunum
binds to transferrin
Iron circulation
transferrin carries iron
iron goes to red cell precursors, organs
Structure of Hemoglobin
4 globin chains
4 heme molecules
globin - 2a and 2b chains
heme - iron molecule in protoporphyrin ring
iron only binds O2 in what state
ferrous (fe2+)
methemoglobin
ferric (fe3+)
Iron metabolism (where does it go)
most goes to RBCs
rest goes to macrophages
Iron storage
ferritin: quick in, quick out
hemosiderin: more stable
Causes of iron deficiency (Vague)
decreased iron intake
increased iron loss
increased iron requirement
reasons for decreased iron intake
bad diet
bad absorption
reasons for increased iron loss
GI bleed
menses
hemorrhage (slow)
reasons for increased iron requirement
pregnancy, fast growth
bottom line in IDA:
premenopausal women think ___
everyone else think ____
menorrhagia
GI blood loss
IDA sxs
asymptomatic
or fatigue, dizziness
Pica
IDA signs
pale
spoon nails
smooth tongue
morphology IDA - blood
hypochromic, microcytic anemia anisocytosis poikilocytosis dec reticulocytes inc platelets
morphology IDA - bone marrow
erythroid hypoplasia
dyserythropoiesis
decreased iron stores
treatment IDA
find out why!
oral iron
megaloblastic anemia - underlying cause
Defective DNA synthesis
Nuclear/cytoplasmic asynchrony
Dec B12/folate
Macrocytic anemia with oval macrocytes and hypersegmented neutrophils
megaloblastic anemia
Megaloblastic: _____cytic anemia with ____ _____cytes and _____ ________
Macrocytic anemia with oval macrocytes and hypersegmented neutrophils
What is slow/not slow in megaloblastic anemia that leads to big cells?
Slow DNA synthesis (not enough dTMP from dec. B12/folate)
Normal RNA synthesis –> normal cytoplasm w/ immature nucleus
B12 sources
meat, dairy, cereal NOT VEGGIES
B12 absorption, transport
Binds to IF (from parietal cells)
Absorbed in distal ileum
Carried in blood by transcobalamin II
Causes of B12 deficiency
Diet (rare) Lack of IF Pancreatic damage Ileal damage Tapeworm
What else is B12 good for?
homocysteine –> methionine
homocysteinemia —>
atheroscelosis, thrombosis (from dec. B12)
dec methionine –>
myelin damage –> subacute combined degeneration
from dec. B12
In a patient w/ macrocytosis, always check for
B12 deficiency (even if folate is low)
folate sources
lots
green leafy veggies
folate absorption, transport
Absorbed in jejunum
Converted to methyl-FH4
Transported freely to liver, red cells
causes of folate deficiency
Diet (small reserve)
Alcohol abuse
Jejunal damage
Drugs
morphology of megaloblastic anemia - blood
Macrocytic anemia
Oval macrocytes
Hypersegmented neutrophils
morphology of megaloblastic anemia - bone marrow
Megaloblastic erythroblasts
Megaloblastic neutrophils
How to test for Pernicious anemia
Schilling test
- drink radiolabeled B12
- Intramuscular injection of B12 (to saturate tissue stores with normal B12, so that if you absorb the radioactive B12, it won’t bind in the tissues, but will be passed into the urine.
- Collect urine, see how much radiolabeled B12 there is in it.
- If there’s no radioactive B12 in the urine (all passed in feces - not absorbed), try the test again, giving some IF along with the b12….
weird shape anemias are
Hereditary spherocytosis Autoimmune hemolysing anemia Sickle cell anemia G6PD deficiency MAHA
Types of hemolytic anemia (time)
Chronic - usually congenital
Acute - usually acquired
symptoms chronic hemolytic anemia
well-compensated, sometimes w/ crises
sxs acute hemolytic anemia
Back, abdominal, limb pain
Headache, malaise, fever
Jaundice, pallor, tachycardia
types of hemolytic anemia (how to get them)
inherited
Acquired
causes of inherited hemolytic anemia
Membrane defects
Enzyme deficiencies
Globin defects
causes of acquired hemolytic anemia
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia
Infection-related
Drug-related
Increased red cell destruction –>
bottom line re: hemolytic anemia
increased red cell production
Signs of inc. RBC destruction
Inc. serum bilirubin
Inc. LDH
Dec. haptoglobin
Hemoglobinemia/-uria
Signs of inc. RBC production
Reticulocytosis
Nucleated red cells in blood
Test to see if Hemolytic anemia is autoimmune
Direct antiglobulin test
Direct antiglobulin test
Looks for antibody/c’ on RBC surface
Positive result means immune process
take red cells + AHG = agglutination = +
means there are already abs on RBCs
Osmotic fragility test
Measures fragility of red cells
Positive result means spherocytes present
Doesn’t give us a lot more information
morphology hemolytic anemia
Normochromic, normocytic anemia Spherocytes Other poikilocytes: targets sickles fragmented red cells