Pancytopenia Flashcards
Define panctyopenia?
- reduction in white cells, platelet, red cells
- greater drop in neutrophils
What is the maturation of neutrophils?
myeloblast -> myelocyte -> neutrophil
Life span of a neutrophil?
- 7-8hrs
- first to reduce in numbers in a pancytopenia
Causes of pancytopenia (2 broad)
- reduced production
- increased destruction
Explain causes of decreased production of haemopoetic cells?
- bone marrow failure (primary, secondary, inherited) - Fanconi’s
- aplastic anaemia
- myelodysplastic syndromes
- acute leukaemia
Describe Fanconi’s anaemia?
- autosomal recessive inherited marrow syndrome
- short stature, skeletal abnormalities
- median age 7
- DNA damage
- chromosome fragility
- increased risk of AML
Describe aplastic anaemia?
- acquired bone marrow failure
- autoimmune attack
- risk of developing AML
Describe myelodysplastic syndrome?
- dysplasia
- increased apoptosis
- risk of AML
Acute leukaemia may present as?
- pancytopenia
- increased WCC
Causes of secondary bone marrow failure?
- drug induced
- B12/folate deficiency
- malignancy
- viral
Examples of drugs that can cause secondary bone marrow failure?
- chemo
- alcohol
- azathioprine
- methotrexate
Causes of hypersplenism
- splenic congestion (portal hypertension)
- systemic disease (RA)
- Haematological malignancy (splenic lymphoma)
Pancytopenia blood results?
- anaemia
- neutropenia
- thrombocytopenia
Symptoms of pancytopenia?
- SOB
- Fatigue
- Infections
- Bleeding
- Purpura
Hypocellular bone marrow causes?
- aplastic anaemia
- drug induced
Hypercellular bone marrow causes?
- hypersplenism
- myelodysplasia
- vitamin B12/folate deficiency