L33: Hemostasis Abnormalities Causing Bleeding Flashcards
What are the symptoms of disorders of primary hemostasis?
Bleeding manifests in epithelium (mucocutaneous bleeding)
Skin hemorrhages: petechiae < purpura < ecchymoses
Bleeding after superficial cuts/scratches
Menorrhagia
Gingival bleeding
Epistaxis
GI beeding
What are the symptoms of disorders of secondary hemostasis?
Anatomic or soft tissue bleeding
Delayed or recurrent bleeding
Hemoarthrosis
Bleeding into muscle, deep tissues, body cavities
Large ecchymoses or hematomas
What laboratory screening tests for hemostasis disorders?
CBC: WBC, HGB, HCT, Retic, PLT, Diff, blood smear
For primary hemostasis: PLT count, bleeding time (increased in VWD, platelet abnormalities and vascular disorders)
For secondary hemostasis: PT (extrinsic and common pathways), APTT (intrinsic and common pathways) and TCT/fibrinogen assay (fibrinogen deficiency)
What are the classes of disorders of primary hemostasis?
- Thrombocytopenia
- Functional platelet defects
- Von Willebrand Disease
- Vascular defects
What are the causes of decreased production leading to thrombocytopenia?
Congenital: various inherited diseases; may have physical malformations, anemia, abnormal platelet size or morphology
Acquired:
1) Drugs
2) Viruses: CMV, EBV, varicella-zoster, rubella
3) Myelophthisic: infiltration of bone marrow with abnormal cells
4) Megaloblastic: vitamin B12 or folate deficiency (pancytopenia)
Immune thrombocytopenic pupura (ITP)
Causes increased destruction of platelets
Patient forms autoantibody against GP IIb-IIIa
Antibody-sensitized platelets removed by spleen macrophages
Acute form in children post-viral infection and is self-limiting
Chronic form mainly in adults and treated with immunosuppression
Can also treat by splenectomy
Drug-induced thrombocytopenia
Causes increased destruction of platelets
Many drugs implicated
Various immune mechanisms
Get autoantibody to plt
Nenoatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT)
Mother forms IgG allantibody against fetal platelet antigen in early pregnancy
IgG passes plecenta, binds to fetal platelets which are phagocytized by macrophages in the spleen
Similar mechanism to HDFN
Posttransfusion purpura
Causes increased destruction of platelets
Pt develops severe decrease in platelets after transfusion due to alloantibody against antigen in transfused platelets
Pts usually have history of exposure to platelet antigens through previous transfusion or multiple pregnancies
Treated w/ immunosuppression or antigen-negative platelets if needed
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT II)
Causes increased destruction of platelets
Heparin binds to platelet factor IV
Pt develops IgG antibody to heparin-PFIV complex after receiving unfractionated heparin
Immune complex triggers platelet activation and aggregation
Thrombocytopenia occurs 5 - 14 days after starting heparin
Venous thrombosis occurs in 10 - 30% of cases; 20% mortality rate
Tx: discontinue heparin and use a non-heparin anticoagulant
HIT I
Non-immune mediated
Mild, rapid, and transient decrease in platelets after heparin administration
Causes some platelet aggregates which are removed from circulation
Is benign
What are the non-immune causes of thrombocytopenia? How do they function?
Thrombotic microangiopathies: TTP, HUS, DIC
Thrombi form in blood vessels and rupture RBCs (forming schistocytes) as tehy pass through partially occluded vessels
Thrombocytopenia and anemia
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
Acquired TTP involves autoantibody to ADAMTS-13 and inability to cleave ultra ultra-large VWF
ULWF spontaneously bind platelets causing activation and platelet thrombi in microvasculature, obstruction of blood flow to organs, and fragmentation of RBCs (schistocytes)
Triad: thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, neurological symptoms (+ fever, renal symptoms)
See decreased HGB, increased retics, increased LD, decreased haptoglobin, hemoglobinuria, and schistocytes in blood smear
Tx: plasma exchange to remove ADAMTS-13 antibody
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
Acute gastroenteritis (E. coli O157:H7) in young children
Shiga toxin damages endothelial cells causing release of ULVWF and thus platelet thrombi in microvasculature, mainly in the kidney, and RBC fragmentation (schistocytes)
Triad: thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and renal failure
See decreased hemoglobin, increased retics, increased LD, decreased haptoglobin, hemoglobinuria, schistocytes in smear
Tx: treat renal failure
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
Systemic activation of coagulation secondary to an underlying condition (sepsis, obstetrical complications, malignancies, trauma, immune hemolytic transfusion reactions, nephrotic syndrome, others)
Microvascular thrombi block blood flow to vessels and fragment RBCs (schistocytes)
Thrombi consume clotting factors and platelets, activate fibrinolysis, resulting in systemic bleeding
PTT, APTT, TCT are increased; fibrinogen decreased; decreased platelets, increased D-dimers, schistocytes on peripheral blood smear