interpret blood results

Question 1

What do reactive changes look like on a blood test?

Answer 1

Thrombocytosis + neutrophilia + monocytosis

Question 2

What does the term “rouleaux” mean?

Answer 2

aggregations of red blood cells

Question 3

A female with a history of Graves’ disease presents with a megaloblastic anaemia

Answer 3

pernicious anaemia

Question 4

What does the bone marrow look like in B12/folate deficiency?

Answer 4

hypercellular

Question 5

Why is there jaundice in pernicious anaemia?

Answer 5

B12 deficiency causes premature red cell destruction in the marrow. This results in excess bilirubin production.

Question 6

Give 2 causes of neutrophilia

Answer 6

smoking

steroids

Question 7

When do we see rouleaux?

Answer 7

Seen in myeloma, acute/chronic infection, connective tissue disease, chronic liver disease

Question 8

What tests confirms patient is haemolysing?

Answer 8

reticulocyte count

Question 9

Confirm diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis

Answer 9

EMA binding test

Question 10

treat hereditary spherocytosis

Answer 10

splenectomy in anaemic children who aren’t growing

folic acid in adults

Question 11

Why are people with HS of short stature?

Answer 11

chronic marrow hyperplasia

Question 12

Reticulocytes + red cell fragments after a valve replacement

Answer 12

microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (MAHA)

Question 13

When do we see MAHA?

Answer 13

DIC
obstetric emergency
mechanical valve

Question 14

In which condition would you see

a) Smudge/smear cells?
b) Reed-Sternberg cells?
c) Rouleaux formation?
d) Auer rods?
e) Pseudo Pelger-Huet?

Answer 14

a) CLL
b) Hodgkin’s lymphoma
c) multiple myeloma
d) AML
e) CML

Question 15

when do you see target cells and howell-jolly bodies?

Answer 15

hyposplenism eg. post-splenectomy, sickle cell

Question 16

When are Heinz bodies seen?

Answer 16

G6PD deficiency due to oxidative damage to rbcs

Question 17

What is a Howell-Jolly body?

Answer 17

a rbc with nuclear remnants

Question 18

When are tear drop cells seen?

Answer 18

thalassaemia, megaloblastic anaemia and myelofibrosis.

Question 19

An 18 year old man with fatigue and a family history of a haemolytic disorder has a blood count performed with the results as follows: Haemoglobin 82g/L, MCV 94 fl, white cell count 5.9 x 109/l, neutrophil count 3.2 x 109/l and platelet count 170 x 109/l. Blood film shows polychromasia and red cells with loss of central pallor.

Answer 19

hereditary spherocytosis

Question 20

cell with loss of central pallor

Answer 20

spherocyte

Question 21

decribe a monocyte

Answer 21

horse-shoe shaped nucleus

Question 22

what is a thrombocyte?

Answer 22

a platelet

Question 23

Which cells does a myeloid progenitor form?

Answer 23

megakaryocytes
rbcs
myeloblasts
mast cells

Question 24

Which cells form from megakaryocytes?

Answer 24

platelets

Question 25

Which cells form from myeloblasts?

Answer 25

neutrophils
eosinophils
basophils

Question 26

What cells form from the lymphoid progenitor?

Answer 26

lymphoid cells eg B cells and T cells