Common cause of Anaemia and Thrombocytopenia Flashcards
what does MCV stand for?
mean cell volume, relating to how big the red blood cell is
what are the causes of anaemia other than blood loss?
haematinic deficiency secondary to chronic disease haemolysis alcohol drugs toxins renal impairment EPO primary haemological /marrow disease
what are the causes of anaemia when the MCV is normacytic?
anaemia of chronic disease/inflammatory
what are the causes of anaemia when the MCV is microcytic?
iron deficiency
haemoglobin disorders
what is the most common cause of anaemia
iron deficiency
why do you get iron deficient?
- we dont absorb iron well and the body does not have a way to get rid of iron and therefore we can only absorb only small amounts of iron.
what are some lab tests to establish low Iron?
FBC, indices and film Ferritin - checks iron storage % hypochromic cells serum iron/TIBC Marrow
what does a blood film show if anaemia?
we would see small pale red blood cells
what are the main causes of anaemia/low deficiency?
blood loss
increased demand
reduced intake
what are the main causes of anaemia in young women?
menstrual loss/problems
pregnancy
diet
what are the main causes of anaemia in older people
bleeding and malignancy
what are the main therapies for anaemia treatment?
oral iron
IM iron
IV iron - increasingly used
what is megaloblastic anaemia?
a characteristic cell morphology caused by impaired DNA synthesis
what are the causes of megaloblastic change?
B12 or Folic acid deficiency alcohol drugs - cytotoxics/folate antagonists/N2O malignancy congenital rarities
how is vitamin B12 absorped?
Go over pathway
gastric parietal cells
intrinsic factor and receptors in terminal ileum
what are the main causes of B12 deficiency
nutrional
gastric problems
small bowel problems, crohns, tb
what are the main sources of folic acid
mainly in green vegables, bens, peas, nuts and liver
what are the main causes of folic acid deficiency?
mainly dietary
what are the common features of b12 or folate deficiency?
sterility anorexia glossitis mild jaudice pancytopenia megaloblastic anaemia
what is the classic cause of B12 deficiency
pernicious Anaemia
what are the common causes of haemolysis
things wrong inside the red cell
things wrong with the red cell membrane
things wrong with the outside og the red blood cell
what are the common causes of haemolysis that occur within the rbc?
haemoglobinopathy (sickle cell) enzyme defects (G6PD)
what are the dangers of diagnosising an older patient with anaemia of chronic disease?
could miss a malignancy especially bowel cancer.
what are the common causes of thrombocytopenia?
- drugs/alcohol/toxins
- ITP - absence of platelets difficult to have a definitive diagnosis.
- other autoimmune diseases
- liver disease
- pregnancy
- haematological/marrow diseases
- infections acute
- disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
- congenital conditions
- many others
