Bleeding disorders Flashcards
What two categories of bleeding disorder are there
Bleeding
Thrombosis
What categories of bleeding are there?
Primary haemostasis failure
Secondary haemostasis failure
What components of primary haemostasis can be defective?
Collagen (vessels)
Platelets
von WIllebrand Factor
What general symptoms can collagen defects cause?
East bruising and bleeding into the skin
Rarely bleed from mucous membranes
What are some hereditary collagen defects?
Marfans
Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT)
How is hereditary haemorrhagic telangictasia (HHT) inehrited?
Autosomally
Describe HHT
Capillary dilation gives small red dots that blanch- mainly in nose and GI tract
What are some symptoms of HHT?
Epistaxis
GI bleeds- lead to iron deficient anaemia
What are some acquired causes of collagen defects?
Vasculitis Scurvy Senile purpura Steroid induced Infection- Meningococcal septicaemia Henoch–Schönlein purpura
Describe Henoch-Schonlein purpura
Type III hypersensitivity (immune complex) caused but acute URTI.
Ab against cell wall
What are some symptoms of Henoch–Schönlein purpura?
Mainly in children
Purpura in legs and buttocks, abdo pain, arthritis, hematuria, glomerulonephritis
What infection classically gives purpura due to damage to cell walls?
Meningococcal septicaemia
What symptoms characterize platelet defective/deficient primary haemostatic failure?
Purpura and mucosal bleeding.
How may platelets cause uncontrolled bleeding?
Reduced number (thrombocytopenia) Reduced platelet function
What does the platelet count look like in patients with reduced platelet function?
Normal or increased
How does the bleed time change in patients with reduced platelet function?
Prolonges
What are some hereditary causes of reduced platelet function?
Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia
Bernard–Soulier syndrome
Storage pool disease
Describe Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia
Lack GPIIb-IIIa on platelets therefore fibrinogen cannot bind and cause aggregation.
Describe Bernard–Soulier syndrome
Lack GPIb therefore cannot bind to vWF.
What are some acquired causes of reduced platelet function?
Drugs- Aspirin, NSAIDs
Renal failure- Urea can interfere with platelet function
What is a reduced platelet number called?
Thrombocytopenia
What is the commonest cause of primary haemostatic failure?
Thrombocytopenia
Is thrombocytopenia usually hereditary or acquired?
Acquired
How do you investigate thrombocytopenia?
Bone marrow biopsy
What can cause thrombocytopenia?
Reduced platelet production
Increased platelet destruction
Hypersplenism
How can hypersplenism cause thrombocytopenia?
Sequester platelets there
What can cause decreased platelet production?
Bone marrow failure
What can increase platelet destruction?
Coagulopathy
Immune destruction
What coagulopathies can cause increased platelet destruction?
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
Describe thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
Platelet consumption leads to profound thrombocytopenia.
What causes thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura?
Endothelial damage and microvascular thrombosis (due to inability to degrade vWF).
What are some risk factors for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura?
Pregnancy Oral contraceptive SLE Infection Clopidogrel
What are some symptoms of TTP?
Purpura Fever Fluctuating cerebral dysfunction Haemolytic anaemia with red cell fragmentation/Haemolytic Urea Syndrome (HUS) Renal Failure
How do you diagnose TTP?
Normal coag screen
Raised lactic dehydrogenase (LDH)- Due to haemolysis
How do you treat TTP?
Plasma exchange
Cryoprecipitate and FFP
Pulsed intravenous methylprednisolone
What immune conditions can cause a thrombocytopenia?
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
Post-transfusion purpura (PTP)
Describe post-transfusion purpura (PTP)
Alloantibodies against platelets
2-12 days after transfusion
Mainly in women immunised by pregnancy
Describe immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
Immune destruction of platelets by macrophages
What are the types of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)?
Child
Adult
Describe ITP in children
Onset 2-6YO
Acute onset with mucosal bleeding- sometimes following viral infection.
Severe but rarely life threatening.
Describe ITP in adults
More chronic than in children.
More common in women and associated with other autoimmune disease (SLE, thyroid and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia), malignancy and infection.
How do you treat ITP in children?
Only treat in very symptomatic
Short course high-dose prednisolone
i.v. IgG
How do you treat IPT in adults?
Oral prednisolone 1mg/kg body weight body weight
Splenectomy
i.v. IgG
Platelet transfusion- only in extreme cases
What are the symptoms of ITP?
Easy bruising, purpura, epistaxis and menorrhagia are common
Major haemorrhage is rare
Splenomegaly is rare
How do you diagnose ITP?
Blood count normal bar for thrombocytopenia
Normal or increased numbers of megakaryocytes
Platelet antibodies
In what two ways can vWF be affected to cause a thrombocytopenia?
Decreased volume
Decreased function
Describe hereditary vWF defects causing thrombocytopenia
Autosomal dominant
Common
Variable severity
Form Ab against vWF
What is a secondary haemostasis failure also known as?
Coagulopathy
What are the two categories of coagulopathy?
Multiple clotting factor deficiency
SIngle clotting factor deficiency
Are multiple clotting factor deficiencies normally inherited or acquired?
Acquired
How do you test for multiple clotting factor deficiencies?
Prolonged PT and APTT
What are some causes of multiple clotting factor deficiencies?
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
Liver failure
VK deficiency
Warfarin therapy
How can warfarin therapy cause multiple clotting factor deficiencies?
Antagonised VK
Which coag factors are needed for VK to make?
II, VII, IX, X, Protein C and Protein S
Where do we get VK from and how is it absorbed?
Diet (green leafy veg)
Bowel bacteria
Absorbed in upper intestine and needs bile salts