Haematology Flashcards
Define anaemia
- Decrease of Hb in blood
- Below reference level for age and sex of individual
- Can be caused by low red cell mass (RCM) or increased plasma volume
Diagnosis to determine cause of anaemia
- Cause = reduced production from bone marrow
- Reticulocyte (immature RBC’s in bone marrow) count LOW
- Cause = increased removal
- Reticulocyte count HIGH
How are the types of anaemia classified?
Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) = avg volume of RBC’s
What are the 3 major types of anaemia?
- Hypochromic microcytic - LOW MCV
- Normochromic microcytic - NORMAL MCV
- Macrocytic - HIGH MCV
Consequences of anaemia
- Reduced O2 transport
- Tissue hypoxia
- Compensatory changes
- Increased tissue perfusion
- Increased O2 transfer to tissues
- Increased RBC production
Pathological consequences of anaemia
- Myocardial fatty change
- Fatty change in liver
- Aggravates angina and claudication
- CNS cell death
Generic clinical features of anaemia
- Fatigue
- Dyspnoea
- Angina (if pre existing coronary disease)
- Anorexia
- Palpitations
Generic signs of anaemia
- Pallor
- Tachycardia
- Systolic flow murmur
- Cardiac failure
Aetiology of microcytic anaemia
- Low MCV
- Iron deficiency (most common cause)
- Anaemia of chronic disease (anaemia caused by chronic disease)
- Thalassaemia (decreased Hb production)
Aetiology of iron deficiency anaemia
- Blood loss
- Menorrhagia (menstruation)
- GI bleed
- Hookworm
- Poor diet
- Increased demand during growth and pregnancy
- Malabsorption
- Poor intake
- Coeliac disease
Pathophysiology of iron deficient anaemia
- Less Fe available for haem synthesis
- Leads to reduction in Hb
- .˙. Smaller RBC’s -> microcytic anaemia
Clinical presentations for iron deficient anaemia
- Brittle nails + hair
- Spoon shaped nails
- Atrophy of the papillae of tongue
- Angular stomatitis (ulceration of corners of mouth)
Differential diagnosis of iron deficient anaemia
- Thalassaemia
- Sideroblastic anaemia
- Anaemia of chronic disease
Diagnosis of iron deficient anaemia
- Hb M < 130g/L
- Hb F < 120g/L
- Hb Fp < 110g/L
- MCV < 80fL
- Serum ferrite = decreased
- Blood film
- Micro + hypochrom (pale)
Treatment of iron deficient anaemia
- Oral iron - Ferrous sulphate
- Side effects: nausea, diarrhoea/constipation, black stool
- Ferrous gluconate if side effects bad
- IV/ deep IM iron
Define anaemia of chronic disease
- Secondary to chronic disease
- Essentially, body is sick .˙. bone marrow sick -> anaemia
- RBC’s often normocytic
- Microcytic in rheumatoid arthritis and Chron’s
Aetiology of anaemia of chronic disease
Chronic infections such as
- TB
- Crohn’s
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
- Malignant disease
Pathophysiology of anaemia of chronic disease
- Decreased release of Fe from bone marrow to developing erythroblasts
- Inadequate erythropoietin (cytokine which increase RBC production) response to anaemia
- Decreased RBC survival
Diagnosis of anaemia of chronic disease
- Serum iron and TIBC = low
- Serum ferritin = normal/raised
- Serum soluble transferrin receptor level = normal
- Blood count & film
- Normocytic or microcytic
- Hypochromic
Treatment of anaemia of chronic disease
Erythropoietin injection = effective in raising Hb level
Aetiology of normocytic anaemia
- Acute blood loss
- Anaemia of chronic disease
- Endocrine disorders
- Renal failure
- Pregnancy
Diagnosis of normocytic anaemia
- Normal B12 and folate
- Raised reticulocytes
- Low Hb
- Blood count & film - RBCs = normocytic
Treatment of normocytic anaemia
- Improve diet + vitamins
- Erythropoietin injection
Define macrocytic anaemia
- High MCV
- Megaloblastic
- Non-megaloblastic
Define megaloblastic macrocytic anaemia
- Erythroblasts with delayed nuclear maturation because of delayed DNA synthesis
- Megaloblasts: high MCV and no nuclei
Define non-megaloblastic macrocytic anaemia
Erythroblasts = normal
Aetiology of macrocytic anaemia
- Megaloblastic
- B12 deficiency
- Folate deficiency
- Non-megaloblastic
- Alcohol
- Liver disease
- Hypothyroidism
Pathophysiology of pernicious anaemia
- Autoimmune disorder + megaloblastic
- Parietal cells of stomach attacked ->atrophic gastritis + loss of intrinsic factor production .˙. B12 malabsorption
- Intrinsic factor antibodies = specific for diagnosis
- Autoimmune gastritis -> parietal and chief cells replaced by mucin-secreting cells
- Leads to achlorhydria (reduced HCl)
Clinical presentation of pernicious anaemia
- Progressively increasing symptoms of anaemia
- Lemon-yellow skin colour (pallor + mild jaundice)
- Glossitis (red sore tongue)
- Neurological features
- Symmetrical paresthesia (tingling fingers and toes)
- Progressive weakness
- Paraplegia
Differential diagnosis of pernicious anaemia
- Folate deficiency
- Disease of terminal ileum
- Bacterial overgrowth in small bowel
- Gastrectomy
Diagnosis of pernicious anaemia
- Blood count & film
- Megaloblastic anaemia characteristics
- Macrocytic RBCs
- Peripheral film = oval macrocytes + hypersegmented neutrophil polymorphs
- Serum bilirubin = raised
- Serum B12 = low
- Hb = low
- Reticulocyte = low
Treatment of pernicious anaemia
- If cause malabsorption -> B12 injection
- Dietary = oral B12
- Replenish B12 stores with IM hydroxocobalamin
Pathophysiology of folate deficiency
- Megaloblastic anaemia
- Absorbed by duodenum/proximal jejunum
- Essential for DNA synthesis .˙. impairment of DNA synthesis + delayed nuclear maturation -> large RBCs + decreased RBC production in bone marrow
- Deficiency can lead to fetal neural tube defects
Aetiology of folate deficiency
- Poor intake
- Increased demand
- Malabsorption - Crohn’s , Coeliac
- Antifolate drugs - Methotrexate, Trimethoprim
Clinical presentation of folate deficiency
- Symptoms of anaemia
- Glossitis
- No neuropathy like B12 deficiency (way to differentiate)
Diagnosis of folate deficiency
- Blood count & film
- Megaloblastic anaemia characteristics
- Macrocytic RBCs
- Oval macrocytes, hypersegmented neutrophil polymorphs
- Serum red cell folate = low
- GI investigation = small bowel biopsy to exclude occult GI disease
- Serum bilirubin = raised
Treatment of folate deficiency
Folic acid tablets daily for 4 months WITH B12 ALWAYS unless confirmed normal B12
Define haemolytic anaemia
- Destruction of RBCs»_space; Production of RBCs
- RBCs = normocytic or macrocytic if many young RBCs
Consequences of haemolytic anaemia
- Shortening red cell survival -> compensatory RBC production by bone marrow
- If loss close enough to compensatory production -> compensated haemolytic disease
- Compensatory production -> reticulocytes released prematurely .˙. cells larger than mature cells -> macrocytic
Aetiology of haemolytic anaemia
- RBC membrane defect
- Hereditary spherocytosis
- Enzyme defects
- G6PD deficiency
- Haemoglobinopathies
- B Thalassaemia
- A Thalassaemia
- Sickle cell disease
- Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia