RBC Disorders - Anemia Flashcards
36-year-old woman comes to your office complaining of weakness, fatigue, and bouts of episodes where she has shortness of breath. What do you think she has? When examining her you notice that her eyes are pale so is her skin. Upon further interview she mentioned that she has two through three headaches week and she sometimes feels lightheaded. What other symptoms does she have?
She has anemia which is a reduction in circulating the red cells. Other symptoms that she might present with include angina which is due to pre-existing coronary artery disease.
How is red blood cell mass quantified? How is anemia defined for males and females? How is anemia classified as microcytic, normocytic or macrocytic?
Hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC counts are used to count RPC mass. For males HB is less then 13.5 and for females HB is less than 12.5. Microcytic less than 80 normocytic between 80 and 100 macrocytic greater than 100.
