Iron Deficiency Anaemia Flashcards
What is the most common form of anaemia worldwide?
Iron Deficiency anaemia
What does the bone marrow require iron to produce?
Haemoglobin?
What does a reduction of iron lead to?
A reduction of haemoglobin/ red blood cells
What are the main reasons why someone would become iron deficienct?
- Insufficient dietary iron (reduced intake)
- Iron requirements increase
- Iron is being lost
- Inadequate iron absorption
What are possible reasons for insufficient dietary iron?
Vegans and vegetarians due to a lack of meat in their diet.
Not eating enough
What are possible reasons for an increase in iron requirements?
Children have increased iron demands during periods of rapid growth.
Women have increased demands during pregnancy as the baby will receive their iron supply
An increase in plasma volume during pregnancy causes iron deficiency anaemia through dilution
What are possible reasons for Inadequate iron absorption?
Conditions which affect the small intestine (coeliac disease, Crohn’s) can prevent sufficient iron being absorbed.
What are possible reasons that iron is lost?
Excessive bleeding
• Blood loss due to menorrhagia is the most common cause in pre-menopausal women
• Gastrointestinal bleeding is the most common cause in men and post-menopausal women.
• Colon cancer is a cause of excessive bleeding
What are the possible presentations of iron deficiency anaemia?
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath on exertion
- Palpitations
- Pallor
- Nail changes: this includes koilonychia (spoon-shaped nails)
- Hair loss
- Atrophic glossitis
- Post-cricoid webs
- Angular stomatitis
What is the first thing to do when you suspect iron deficiency anaemia?
Take a history
What other investigations could you do for iron deficiency anaemia?
Full blood count
Serum ferritin
Total iron binding capacity
blood film
What might you find on a full blood count in someone with iron deficiency anaemia?
Hypochromic microcytic anaemia
What level of serum ferritin would you expect in someone with iron deficiency anaemia?
Low serum ferritin
it correlates with iron stores
What would you expect the total iron binding capacity to be in someone with iron deficiency anaemia?
High
What might you find on a blood film in someone with iron deficiency anaemia?
Anisopoikilocytosis (red blood cells of different sizes and shapes)
Target cells
‘pencil’ poikilocytes
