Hematological Conditions Flashcards
Iron deficiency anemia labs
- low serum ferritin
- low serum iron
- high TIBC
What is TIBC
Total iron-binding capacity. Measures the blood’s ability to attach itself to iron and transport it around the body.
What does a high TIBC indicate?
Iron deficiency anemia. When there isn’t much iron to attach to you’ll have a lot of free transferrin in your blood
What is transferrin
A protein your liver makes that attaches to iron in your blood. Once iron is bound to transferrin it goes to your bone marrow to make RBCs and hemoglobin
What is RDW?
Red cell distribution width. Is the variation of size/volume of your RBCs [how equal or unequal RBCs are in size]. Normally RBCs are relatively equal in shape and size. In some conditions/diseases can distort their shape or be smaller or larger than normal.
What does it mean to have a low RDW?
RBCs are roughly similar in size, which is normal and desirable
What does it mean to have a high RDW?
RBCs produced in different sizes [high variation]. There is some issue with red blood cell production or survival
What could a high RDW indicate
Nutrient deficiency anemia
What is MCV
Mean corpuscular volume.
The average size [volume] of the RBC in your body
What does low MCV mean?
RBCs are smaller than normal (microcytic).
How can Iron deficiency cause low MCV
W/o enough iron in the body, RBCs cannot make hemoglobin= smaller RBC size
What does it mean to have high MCV?
RBCs are bigger than normal (macrocytic)
What are some causes of high MCV?
Vitamin B12 or Folate deficiency.
What is MCHC?
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration.
The average amount of hemoglobin per RBC, relative to the size of the cell [what percentage of RBC are made up of hemoglobin]. An indirect measure of how much hemoglobin you have
What does decreased MCHC cause?
hypochromia, which makes the red blood cells paler
What does increased MCHC cause?
RBCs to become darker or hyperchromia
what does a low MCHC cause and is a sign of?
Hypochromia or paler RBCs.
Sign of anemia. Iron is necessary to produce hemoglobin, so if you are deficient in iron, you will produce less hemoglobin for each given RBC
What could cause high MCHC?
Vitamin B12 and Folate Deficiency because they can impair the production of red blood cells without affecting hemoglobin.
What is MCH?
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin. Measure of the average amount of hemoglobin in your RBCs
Why do MCH and MCV values usually parallel each other?
When RBCs increase, MCH usually follows. [Bigger red blood cells can fit in more hemoglobin].
What does low MCH mean and what usually causes it?
RBCs contain less hemoglobin than normal usually means they are smaller than normal. Iron deficiency
What does high MCH indicate?
RBCs contain more hemoglobin than normal. This usually also means that they are larger than normal
What can cause high MCH
anemia due to vitamin B12 or Folate deficiency
What are platelets and why do they matter?
are small blood cells that help blood to clot. When a blood vessel gets damaged, platelets gather at the damaged site and make a plug (clot). Clotting helps slow down and stop bleeding and helps wounds heal
What does a low platelet count mean?
also known as thrombocytopenia. When there are not enough platelets, the blood doesn’t clot well, which can cause excessive bleeding and prevent wounds from healing properly
What are some main reasons for low platelets?
- hemodilution
- there is an issue with making platelets
- they are destroyed faster than normal.
what are some causes of low platelets?
infections and nutrient deficiencies
What is hemoglobin?
four proteins or chains each of the four chains contain a ‘heme’ part. Heme is the molecule containing iron.
what is the main function of hemoglobin?
transport oxygen from the lungs to tissues, and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the tissues to the lungs
What does it mean if you have low hemoglobin?
your blood carries oxygen less efficiently.
What are some things that can cause low hemoglobin?
nutrient deficiency,
blood loss
What is hematocrit?
it is the percentage of RBC in your blood or percentage of RBC volume compared to your total blood volume
what is ferritin?
a protein complex that stores iron in a soluble, non-toxic form, and transports it to areas where it is required. Blood ferritin is an indirect indicator of the total amount of iron stored in the body. Therefore, is used as a diagnostic test for iron-deficiency anemia
What do low levels of ferritin indicate?
signal that the body’s iron stores are low
What could high levels of ferritin indicate
can go up from stress, infections, or inflammatory state
