Haematology Revision

Question 1

What are the causes of iron deficiency anaemia without microcytosis?

Answer 1

coexisting vitamin B12 or folate deficiency
post bleeding reticulocytosis
oral iron treatment
alcohol intake

Question 2

How does the blood film of iron deficiency anaemia differ from the blood film of thalassaemia?

Answer 2

thalalssaemia blood film has numerous target cells and not as many pencil cells

Question 3

What is the clinical outcome if a patient has two deletions in the alpha thalassaemia genes?

Answer 3

anaemia with low MCV and low MCH

occurs if mutations are on the same loci or different loci

Question 4

What causes HbH disease?

Answer 4

deletion of three alpha globin genes

Question 5

What causes Hb Barts disease?

Answer 5

deletion of four alpha globin genes

Question 6

What is the Schumm’s test?

Answer 6

detects methaemalbumin (a consequence of albumin that has removed free haemoglobin from the blood - occurs when haptoglobin is overwhelmed)

Question 7

What is the treatment for atypical HUS?

Answer 7

eculizumab

Question 8

What test is used to diagnose hereditary sphreocytosis?

Answer 8

EMA binding test (a flow cytometric test)

Question 9

What are the two subtypes of DLBCL?

Answer 9

germinal centre B cell like subtype (GCB)

activated B cell like subtype (ABC)

Question 10

What is the triple hit lymphoma?

Answer 10

lymphoma with genetic rearrangements of MYC, BCL2 and BCL6