Haematology Flashcards
What are the common causes of iron deficiency anaemia in children?
- Inadequate intake
- Malabsorption
- Blood loss
What are sources of iron for an infant?
- Breastmilk - low content, but 50% is absorbed
- Infant formula
- Cow’s milk - high content, only 10% absorbed
- Solids introduced at weaning (i.e. cereal)
What are the signs and symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia?
- Asymptomatic until <60-70g/L
- Feed slowly
- Tire quickly
- “Pica” = eating soil, dirt, etc.
What are the appropriate investigations for suspected anaemia?
- Microcytic - low MCV
- Hypochromic
- Low ferritin
What is the management of iron deficiency anaemia?
- Dietary advise → dark-green vegetables, meat, apricots, raisins
-
Oral ferrous sulphate, 200mg, TDS until normal Hb + at least 3/12 after
- Monitoring
- Re-check iron levels 2-4w after therapy start (at 3w, Hb should rise 2g/100mL)
- If normal, check at 2-4m (if not, address compliance issues)
- Advise black stools are a common and normal side effect → reduce by eating with food or reduced dose if appropriate
- Monitoring
What are the causes of microcytic anaemia?
TAILS
- Thalassaemia
- Anaemia of Chronic Disease
- Iron deficiency
- Lead poisoning
- Sideroblastic / Congenital
What are the causes of normocytic anaemia?
MR I CALM
- Marrow failure
- Renal failure
- Iron deficiency - early on
- Chronic disease
- Aplastic or Acute blood loss
- Leukaemia
- Myelofibrosis
What are the causes of macrocytic anaemia?
AMHLF
- Alcoholism
- Myelodysplastic syndrome / Multiple myeloma
- Hypothyroidism or Haemolytic
- Liver failure
- Folate / B12 deficiency
What are the signs and symptoms of sickle cell disease?
- Hand and foot syndrome → swollen hands & feet; dactylitis
- Acute chest syndrome (ACS)
- Splenic sequestration → anaemia, shock, death
- Painful crises / vaso-occlusive ± priapism
- Infection (pneumococcus and parvovirus)
- Splenomegaly (only in children)
What are the appropriate investigations for sickle cell disease?
- Family origins questionnaire – Afrocaribean of African descent (some northern Europe)
- Guthrie testing after antenatal screening
- Solubility test - if cloudy → haemoglobin electrophoresis (gold-standard)
- FBC and blood smear
- Sickle cells
- Howell-Jowell bodies (hyposplenism)
- Nucleated RBCs
How does sickle cell disease cause anaemia?
- Haemolysis
- HbS is a low-affinity Hb → more readily releases O2 → reduced EPO-drive → anaemia
What is the management of sickle cell disease?
- Education → minimise trigger exposure for crises (cold, dehydration, excessive exercise, hypoxia)
- Vaccination → immunisation against encapsulated organisms (e.g. Pneumococcus / S. pneumoniae and HiB)
-
Prophylaxis
- OD oral penicillin
- OD oral folic acid (due to hyperplastic erythropoiesis, growth spurts, increased turnover)
- Treatment of Chronic Problems:
- Recurrent ACS or vaso-occlusive crisis = Hydroxycarbamide
- Stimulated HbF production
- Monitor for white blood cell suppression
- HSCT (severe cases)
- Recurrent ACS or vaso-occlusive crisis = Hydroxycarbamide
What are the common triggers for acute crises?
- Cold
- Dehydration
- Excessive exercise
- Hypoxia
What is the prognosis of sickle cell disease?
- Premature death due to complications
- 50% of patients with the most severe form of sickle cell disease will die <40 years
- Aplastic anaemia from B19 infection
What are the signs and symptoms of beta thalassaemia major?
-
Extramedullary haematopoiesis
- Bone expansion
- Hepatosplenomegaly
- Frontal bossing
-
Anaemia (3-6m of age)
- Heart failure
- Growth retardation
-
Iron overload - from transfusions
- Heart failure
- Gonadal failure
What are the signs and symptoms of beta thalassaemia minor?
- Asymptomatic
- Microcytosis with normal/low-normal haemoglobin
What are the appropriate investigations for suspected beta thalassaemia?
- Family origins questionnaire – Indian, Mediterranean, Middle East
- Guthrie testing after antenatal screening
- Haemoglobin electrophoresis = gold-standard
- Blood smear
- Microcytic red cells
- Tear drop cells
- Microspherocytes
- Target cells
- Schistocytes
- Nucleated RBCs
What is the management of thalassaemia?
- Beta thalassaemia major
- Blood transfusion ± iron chelation (desferrioxamine, deferiprone)
- HSCT - only for children with an HLA-identical sibling
- Beta thalassaemia minor = No treatment necessary
What is the management of an acute crises in sickle cell disease?
- Analgesia - avoid morphine <12 years
- O2
- Hydration
- Exchange transfusion - ACS, priapism, stroke
- Antibiotics - if infection
What is G6PD?
Rate-limiting enzyme in the pentose-phosphate shunt which is vital to prevent oxidative damage to RBCs.