Pancytopenia Flashcards
secondary bone marrow failure causes
drug induced
B12/folate deficiency
Infiltrative- non-haemopoietic malignant infiltration, lymphoma
Misc.: Viral (eg HIV)/storage diseases
pancytopenia definition
a deficiency of blood cells of all lineages (but generally excludes lymphocytes)
neutrophil lifespan
7-8 hours
red cell lifespan
120 days
increased destruction cause
hypersplenism
causes of hypersplenism
Splenic Congestion
- Portal Hypertension
Systemic diseases
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
Haematological diseases
- Splenic lymphoma
pancytopenia is _______ + ___________ + __________
anaemia
neutropenia
thrombocytopenia
what supportive treatment options are there for pancytopenia
Red cell transfusions
Platelet transfusions
(Neutrophil transfusions not routine)
Antibiotics prophylaxis/treatment
- antibacterials
- antifungals
pancytopenia due to secondary bone marrow disorder treatment
Drug reaction – STOP
Viral – eg treat HIV
Replace B12/folate
establishing the cause of pancytopenia (6 points)
- history, including family history
- clinical findings
- FBC, blood film
- additional routine tests guided by above (B12/folate, LFTs, virology, autoantibody tests)
- bone marrow examination
- specialised tests guided by above (cytogenetics, e.g. chromosome fragility testing in Fanconi’s syndrome, Next generation sequencing. Whole genome sequencing)
platelet lifespan
7-10 days
reduced production cause of pancytopenia
bone marrow failure
- inherited syndromes
- acquired: primary or secondary
marrow cellularity in pancytopenia
variable depending on the cause:
hypocellular in aplastic anaemia
hypercellular in:
- myelodysplastic syndromes
- B12/folate deficiency
- hypersplensim
should you wait for microbiology results before starting treatment for neutropenic fever?
no just start antibiotics promptly based on local unit antibiotic policy
specific treatment for pancytopenia: malignancy
consider treatment (chemotherapy)