Anemias, ALL types

Question 1

what is the most common condition associated with a NONMEGALOBLASTIC macrocytic anemia? (what is megaloblastic?)

Answer 1

liver disease, including cirrhosis due to alcoholism; megaloblastic means there is a defect in DNA synthesis due to a hypovitaminosis of B12 or folate; the cytoplasm grows as normal but the nucleus does not

Question 2

what would be a differentiator in the PBS between megaloblastic and non-megaloblastic macrocytic anemia?

Answer 2

Without doing B12 and folate assays, the presence of reticulocytes would point to a non-megaloblastic cause such as liver disease, hypothyroid, alcoholism, some drugs

Question 3

What is the only FDA medication approved for sickle cell vasoocclusive crisis prevention and why?

Answer 3

Hydroxyurea; it increased HbF production in the HbS cells