Paeds Haem Flashcards
What is ferritin ?
Stored iron in cells
What does low ferritin suggest ?
Iron deficiency
What does high ferritin suggest ?
- Inflammation
- Ferritin is released from cells when there is inflammation such as with infection or cancer
What happens to the TIBC and transferrin levels in IDA?
Increased
How is IDA treated ?
- Ferrous sulphate or ferrous fumarate
- Blood transfusions if necessary
what causes ITP?
- Type II hypersensitivity reaction
- Antibodies are produced that destroy the platelets
- Can occur spontaneously or as a result of a VIRAL INFECTION
How does ITP present ?
- Usually a history of a viral illness
- Onset of symptoms is 24-48hrs
- Bruising
- Petechial or purpuric rash
- Bleeding : gums, epistaxis or menorrhagia (less common)
Who does ITP usually effect ?
-Children <10
How is ITP diagnosed ?
-FBC for platelet count = isolated thrombocytopenia
Give 3 causes of low plts
- ITP
- Heparin induced thrombocytopenia
- Leukaemia
How is ITP treated if patient is actively bleeding or if plt levels are severe (<10)
- Usually resolves on own
- Prednisolone
- IV immunoglobulins
- Platelet transfusion (if required)
Why would a plt transfusion for ITP only work temporarily ?
-The antibodies will destroy the transfused plts
What key education is given in ITP?
- Avoid contact sports
- Avoid IM injections
- Avoid NSAIDs, aspirin and other blood thinning meds
Give 4 complications of ITP
- Chronic ITP
- Anaemia
- Intracranial and SAH
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
What is thalassaemia ?
-Autosomal recessive condition causing a genetic defect in the protein chains that make up Hb.
Give 8 potential signs and symptoms of thalassaemia
- Microcytic anaemia
- Fatigue
- Pallor
- Jaundice
- Gallstones
- Splenomegaly
- Poor growth and development
- Pronounced forehead and malar eminences
How is thalassaemia diagnosed ?
- Pregnant screening test
- FBC -> microcytic anaemia
- Haemoglobin electrophoresis -> globin abnormalitis
- DNA testing -> genetic abnormality
Why can thalassaemia cause iron overload?
- Faulty creation of RBC
- Recurrent transfusions
- Increased iron absorption from the gut due to anaemia
Give 8 signs of iron overload
- Fatigue
- Liver cirrhosis
- Infertility
- Impotence
- HF
- Arthritis
- DM
- Osteoporosis and joint pain
How is potential iron overload monitored and then treated ?
- Monitor serum ferritin
- Treat with iron chelation (desferrioxamine) and limit transfusions
What chromosome is involved in alpha thalassaemia ?
-16
- 4 genes, 2 on each chromosome
How is alpha thalassaemia managed ?
- Monitor FBC
- Monitor for complications
- Blood transfusions
- Splenectomy can be performed
- BM transplant can be curative
What chromosome is involved in beta thalassaemia and why is there 3 types ?
11
-Gene defect can either consist of abnormal copies that retian some function or deletion of genese where there is no function :
- Thalassaemia minor
- Thalassaemia intermedia
- Thalassaemia major
What is thalassaemia minor ?
- Carriers of abnormally functioning beta globin gene
- 1 abnormal, one normal
- Causes mild hypochromic microcytic anaemia and pts often only require monitoring and no active treatment
- Raised HbA2
What is thalassaemia intermedia
- 2 defective genese or one defective and one deletion gene
- More significant anaemia
- Need monitoring and occassional blood transfusions
- May require iron chelation to prevent iron overload
What is thalassaemia major ?
- Homozygous for the deletion gene
- Severe : presents with severe anaemia and failure to thrive in early childhood
What are 3 complications of thalassaemia major ?
- Severe microcytic anaemia
- Hepatosplenomegaly in the 1st year of life
- Bone deformities
- Raised HbF and HbA2, absent HbA
What is sickle cell anaemia ?
- Autosomal recessive condition causing crescent shaped RBC’s
- They are more fragile and more easily destroyed = haemolytic anaemia
Explain the pathophysiology behind sickle cell anaemia
- Pts have an abnormal Hb variant
- It is an autosomal recessive condition where there is an abnormal gene for beta-globin on chromosome 11
- One copy = sickle trait and usually asymptomatic (HbAS)
- 2 copies = sickle cell disease (HbSS)
Why is having sickle cell trait a selective advantage in areas affected by malaria ?
- It reduces the severity of malaria
- Makes them more likely to survive malaria and pass on their genes
How is sickle cell disease diagnosed
- Newborn screening heel prick test at 5 days old
or by Hb electrophoresis - Pregnant women at risk of being carriers are offered testing during pregnancy.
What is the general management of sickle cell anaemia ?
- Avoid dehydration and other triggers
- Keep vaccines up to date
- Abx prophylaxis with penicillin V
- Hydroxycarbamide to stimulate HbF production -> protective effect against sickle cell crisis and acute chest syndrome
- Blood transfusion for severe anaemia
- Stem cell transplant can be curative
Give 9 complications of sickle cell disease
- Anaemia
- Avascular necrosis of large joints
- Pulmonary HTN
- CKD
- Sickle cell crisis
- Acute chest syndrome
- Increased risk of infection
- Stroke
- Priapism
Give 4 examples of a sickle cell crisis
- Vaso-occlusive crisis (painful)
- Splenic sequestration
- Aplastic
- Acute chest syndrome
What is a vaso-occlusive crisis
- Precipitated by infection, dehydration or deoxygenation.
- The sickle RBC’s clog capillaries and cause distal ischaemia
- Presents with pain, fever and signs of triggering infection
- Associated with dehydration and raised haematocrit
- Can cause priapism in med which is treated with aspiration of blood from the penis
What is a splenic sequestration crisis ?
- RBC’s block blood flow to the spleen = enlarged and painful spleen
- Pooling of blood in the spleen can lead to severe and anaemia and circulatory collapse (hypovolaemic shock)
- Mx : blood transfusion, fluid resus
- Recurrent crises -> splenectomy as reccurrent crisis can lead to splenic infarct
- Associated with raised reticulocyte count
What is an aplastic crisis ?
- Temporary loss of creation of new blood cells
- Usually triggered by parovovirus B19
- Leads to severe anaemia and is managed with blood transfusion if necessary
- BM supression -> raised reticuloytes
When is acute chest syndrome diagnosed ?
-Fever or resp symptoms with NEW INFILTRATES seen on CXR and low pO2