Haem 8 - Abnormalities of haemostasis Flashcards
List some factors that would constitute as abnormal bleeding?
- Epistaxis not stopped by 10 minutes compression or requiring medical attention/transfusion
- Cutaneous haemorrhage or bruising without apparent trauma (esp. multiple/large).
- Prolonged (>15 mins) bleeding from trivial wounds, or in oral cavity or recurring spontaneously in 7 days after wound. Spontaneous GI bleeding leading to anaemia.
- Menorrhagia requiring treatment or leading to anaemia, not due to structural lesions of the uterus.
- Heavy, prolonged or recurrent bleeding after surgery or dental extractions.
Summarise haemostatic plug formation
See slide 9 - same as haem 7
What is the cause of abnormal haemostasis?
Lack of a specific factor: “Quantitative defect”
- Failure of production: congenital and acquired
- Increased consumption/clearance
Defective function of a specific factor: “Qualitative defect”
- Genetic defect
- Acquired defect – drugs, synthetic defect, inhibition
Problem with primary haemostasis:
1) Platelet
2) VWF
3) Vessel wall
What are the two methods of platelet adhesion?
1) Platelet to VWF - Gp1b
2) Platelet to collagen - Gp1a
How are platelets activated?
Thromboxane and ADP
Describe the disorder of primary haemostasis in terms of platelets
Low numbers (quantitative): Thrombocytopenia
- Bone marrow failure eg: leukaemia (the monoclonal cells fill the bone marrow pushing out the healthy normal megakaryocytes), B12 deficiency.
- Accelerated clearance eg: immune (ITP - common cause of thrombocytopenia), DIC - disseminated intravascular coaguation.
Impaired function (qualitative):
- Hereditary absence of glycoproteins or storage granules
- Acquired due to drugs: aspirin, NSAIDs, clopidogrel. This is way more common.
Describe auto-ITP
1) antiplatelet autoantibodies
2) sensitises the platelet - it binds to the platelet marking it for phagocytosis
3) the sensitised platelets are phagocytosed by macrophages - cleared more quickly.
What are the mechanisms and causes of thrombocytopenia?
- Failure of platelet production by megakaryocytes
- Shortened half life of platelets
- Increased pooling of platelets in an enlarged spleen
(hypersplenism) + shortened half life
What are the different hereditary loss of glycoproteins?
Loss of GpIIb/IIIa - Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia, autosomal recessive = rare. No platelet aggregation
Loss of GpIb - Bernard Soulier syndrome, not a severe as Glanzmann’s
Loss of of granules - storage pool disease. Loss of ADP
Describe the disorder of primary haemostasis in terms of VWF
Von Willebrand disease
- Hereditary decrease of quantity +/ function (common)
Type 1 (AD) - partial quantitative deficiency of VWF
Type 3 (AR) - No VWF (rare: autosomal recessive)
Type 2 (AD) - abnormal function
- Acquired due to antibody (rare)
What is the function of VWF?
It acts as the bridge between the subendothelial layer and the platelets - binds to collagen + captures platelets
It acts as the carrier for FVIII - if VWF is low then FVIII may also be low (stabilising factor)
Describe the disorder of primary haemostasis in terms of the vessel wall.
Inherited (rare) Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and other connective tissue disorders
Acquired: Scurvy, Steroid therapy, Ageing (senile purpura), Vasculitis
See slides
What is specifically seen with thrombocytopenia?
Petechiae
What is seen in severe VWD?
Haemophilia-like bleeding
How do you test for disorders of primary haemostasis?
Platelet count, platelet morphology
Bleeding time (PFA100 in lab - same thing but in the lab)
Assays of von Willebrand Factor (measure VWF)
Clinical observation