Exam 4 - Anemia Flashcards
What range of Hb is classified as anemia in men and women?
What is the normal hematocrit range?
Men: Hb < 14
Women: Hb < 12
Men: Hematocrit of 40-50%
Women: Hematocrit of 35-45%
What is a reticulocyte?
What does a Reticulocyte count indicate and what is the normal range?
Immature RBC
Indicates bone marrow production of RBC; Normal is 0.5-2%
What indicates new reticulocytes on a peripheral smear?
Blue staining
What are three causes of anemia?
- Decreased RBC production (nutritional deficiencies, disease, ineffective erythropoiesis)
- Increased RBC destruction (hemolysis)
- Blood loss (menstrual, GI, trauma)
What does normocytic, microcytic, and macrocytic mean?
- Normocytic = normal size RBCs
- Microcytic = small than normal RBCs
Macrocytic = larger than normal RBCs
What is Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)?
Calculated value to determine average size of RBCs
What MCV value correlates to microcytic, normocytic, and macrocytic anemia?
- Microcytic is < 80
- Normocytic is 80-100
- Macrocytic is > 100
What is MCH?
The average hemoglobin content in a RBC
What is MCHC?
The average hemoglobin concentration per RBC
How are MCH and MCHC related to MCV?
MCH and MCHC typically “follow” MCV
What is Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW)?
What is a normal RDW?
A measure of the degree of variation in RBC size.
Normal RDW is 11-15%.
What does anisocytosis on a peripheral smear mean?
Variation in size of RBCs
What are signs and symptoms of anemia?
Signs:
- Pallor
- Orthostatic changes
- Tachycardia
- Heme + stool
Symptoms:
- Fatigue, weakness
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Palpitations
- Dyspnea
What are the three main categories of anemia?
- Microcytic hypochromic
- Normocytic normochromic
- Macrocytic (megaloblastic)
What are the three types of microcytic hypochromic anemia?
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Thalassemias
- Sideroblastic anemia
What population is most commonly affected by iron deficiency anemia?
Women of childbearing age
What are major causes of iron deficiency anemia?
- Blood loss (most common cause in adults)
- Decreased dietary intake
- Decreased iron absorption
You are given the following labs:
- RBC, H/H: Decreased
- MCV: Decreased
- MCH: Decreased
- Ferritin: Decreased
- Serum Fe: Decreased
- TIBC: Increased
- RDW: Increased
- Retic count: Low to normal
What is the likely diagnosis?
Iron deficiency anemia