Hematological Disorders Flashcards
What is epitaxis and what is its treatment?
- Nose bleed
- Lean forward
- Pinch nose for 10mins
- Petroleum jelly can be used to moisten nares and prevent recurrence
What is the most common hematological disorder of childhood?
Anemia
What is anemia?
- Decrease in number of RBCs
or
- Decrease in hemoglobin concentration
- Result in either case is poor tissue perfusion
Relative hemoglobin levels for adult males and females?
- M = 14-18
- F = 12-15
- # s will vary by sources
- Children’s #s will be lower
TRUE or FALSE
The body cannot adapt to anemia.
FALSE
- If anemia ocurs slowly, the body can adapt
- ex. Move to denver from a low elevation
What are the basic s/s of anemia?
- Fatigue
- Pallor (pale)
What are some risk factors for Iron-Deficency Anemia?
- Diet high in milk
- Poor dietary intake of iron
- Blood loss
Why is too much milk a bad thing?
- It binds to iron and causes it to get excreted from the body reducing serum levels
What is a negative effect of cow’s milk on the GI system?
- it can cause microbleeds
Why should toddlers eat BEFORE they get their milk?
- So they get their nutrients from food before filling up on milk
What is the max amount of daily milk for toddlers and teens?
- Toddlers = ≤ 32oz
- Teens = ≤ 3 cups (24oz)
What is the treatment for iron-deficiency anemia?
- Treat the underlying cause
- Educate the family
What is our supportive care for severe cases of iron deficiency anemia?
- Intravenous (IV) fluids to replace intravascular volume
- Transfusion may be needed
- Oxygen
- Bed rest
What are the items to remember regarding iron supplements?
- Liquid admin for kids - tastes terrible
- stains teeth so give with straw and
- brush teeth immediately after
- Tablets for older kids
- Take supplements w/ vitamin C to help absorption!
What is the milk rule regarding iron supplements?
None for an hour or two before and after meal
What do we need to keep in mind for safety regarding iron supplements?
- IRON is extremely easy to overdose for kids
- Should be treated as a dangerous drug out of reach (even though its OTC)
- Hide grandmas iron pills!
What is Aplastic Anemia?
- Bone marrow failure!
- Pancytopenia with triad of
- Anemia
- Thrombocytopenia
- Leukopenia
Explain pancytopenia, each component and its s/s.
- Pancytopenia is the destruction of RBCs, WBCs and Thrombocytes (platelets)
- RBC destruction leads to poor oxygen perfusion
- s/s of hypoxia
- WBC destruction leads to susceptibility to infection
- s/s of poor immune response
- Platelet destruction leads to low clotting factor
- s/s unsual bleeding
What is the cause of aplastic anemia?
We don’t know. It is idopathic.
However, some cases that have caused:
- Overwhelming infection
- Radiation
- Industrial/household cleaners
What is the medical treatment for Aplastic anemia?
- Immunosuppression if autoimmune cause is suspected
- Bone marrow transplant
What are the key points regarding bone marrow transplant?
- Transplant (better success rate the earlier its done)
- 85% survival rate
What happens if you wait on a bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia, what happens?
- reduces survival right to 70% as the child would to the human leucocyte antigen (HLA)
- body may now see it as “this isn’t me” and reject the new marrow
If both parents have the sickle cell anemia trait, what are the chances each child will have of getting it?
25%
What are the key points to keep in mind regarding sickle cell anemia?
- sickled cells can’t carry enough 02, leading to decreased perfusion
- sickled cells can stick together and cause blockages
When sickled cells stick together and create blockages, what happens?
- Tissue hypoxia
- Infarction (tissue death)
- Increased stress which causes even more sickling
SCA exacerbations can result in what 3 things?
- Vaso-occlusive crisis
- Sequestration crisis
- Infection