SCD 1 Flashcards
1
Q
What is Sickle Cell Disease? (3)
A
- A person with sickle cell disease has one different substance in the way it makes hemoglogin.
- The position where there should be glutamic acid has one amino acid valine in its place.
- This one change causes the chemical to form long strings when it lets loose of its oxygen. Thus the red cell becomes “sickled.”
2
Q
Definition and Types of SCD (5)
A
- A group of genetic disorders characterized by the inheritance of sickle hemoglobin (Hb S) from both parents or Hb S from one parent and an abnormal hemoglobin or thalassemia from another parent
Sickle cell Disease
- Sickle cell anemia(SS)
- Sickle C disease(SC)
- Sickle beta thalassemia
- (SboThal and Sb+Thal)
3
Q
History of advances in SCD (6)
A
- National newborn screening program
- Infection prevention with penicillin prophylaxis
- Vaccines against encapsulated organisms
a. Prone to infections of encapsulated organs (ex: strep pneumo) - Hydroxyurea to decrease painful crises and possibly ameliorate end-organ injury associated with SCD
- Chronic red blood cell transfusions to reduce stroke risk
- Cure with hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT)
4
Q
Four different shapes of RBC
A
- Normal cell
- Spherical cell
i. Spherocytosis
ii. Must do reticulocyte count - Oval cell
i. Ovalcytosis
ii. Must do reticulocyte count - Sickle cell
5
Q
Normal Hemoglobin (4)
A
a. Disc-shaped
b. Soft
c. Easily flow through small blood vessels
d. Lives for 120 days
6
Q
Sickled Hemoglobin (5)
A
- Sickle-shaped
- Hard
- Often get stuck in small blood vessels
- Lives for 20 days or less
i. Will have high reticulocyte count (if bone marrow is working normally) - Diseases such as parvovirus which causes aplasia of bone marrow will significantly increase the patient’s anemia and HR will increase; could lead to heart failure
* Tx: blood transfusion
7
Q
SCD Pathophysiology (6)
A
- Normal adult hemoglobin (HbA) is a tetramer of four proteins, two alpha- and two ß-globin chains.
- In SCD, the abnormal ß-globin chains called hemoglobin sickle are produced as a result of the substitution of valine for glutamic acid on position 6 of the beta globin gene on chromosome 11.
- The interactions between mutated ß-chains leads to abnormal protein folding and polymerization, causing red blood cell (RBC) sickling.
- The severity of sickling depends on the inheritance pattern of the HbS gene
- HbS polymerization is exacerbated by changes to temperature, pH, and hydration.
- Interactions between rigid erythrocyte polymers and the vascular endothelium drives platelet activation and inflammation, causing vascular dysfunction
* Platelet activation can lead to stroke in these patients
8
Q
Hemoglobinopathies (2)
A
Beta Chain substitutions
- Hgb S: Valine for glutamic acid (6th position, beta chain)
- Hgb C: Lysine for glutamic acid (6th position, beta chain)
9
Q
Hgb Changes (2)
A
- HgB F which has a greater affinity for oxygen to facilitate transport across the placenta is produced in utero
- Within 6 months this is replaced by HgB A
10
Q
Alpha chains (6)
A
- There are four alpha chains that make up hemoglobin
- Alpha globulin chain production is controlled by two pairs of genes are chromosome 16
- If you have a deletion in one of four genes, you are asymptomatic
- If you have a deletion in two of the four genes, you have alpha thal trait—mild anemia, asymptomatic
- If three of the four genes are absent, you have hemolytic anemia with moderately severe anemia, symptomatic
- If you are missing all four genes, you will be stillborn at birth and have hydrops fetalis
11
Q
Beta globulins (4)
A
- Controlled by two genes are chromosome 11
- Beta globulin production can be almost absent to almost fully normal
- Leads to excessive alpha globulin production dependent on the amount of beta globulin production
- Beta thal can be trait (one gene is defective in production), intermedia (2 defective genes with moderate decrease in beta production), severe (2 defective genes with severe defects in beta production)
12
Q
Sickle Cell Anemia - HbS (9)
A
- More severe; Will be sick, will get pneumonias and other encapsulated organism infections
* Salmonella osteomyelitis - Structural variant of β-globin
- Due to single nucleotide change
- Changes the codon of the 6th amino acid from glutamate to valine (GAG->GTG: Glu6Val)
- Red blood cells sickle under low oxygen tension
- Due to aggregation of Hb S under low oxygen tension
- Distort shape of red blood cells, making them less deformable in capillaries, and cause occlusive disease
- Heterozygous carriers unaffected
- Carrier frequency: 8% in African Americans, 25% in West Central Africa
13
Q
Prevention Measures (5)
A
- Immunization; at age 2 and 5 get PV23 because it is a polysaccharide vaccine so it needs Bcells which aren’t mature until age 2
- All routine childhood vaccines
- Needs Pneumococcal 23 vaccine at age 2 and 5 years later
- Flu vaccine
- Meningococcal vaccines
14
Q
Genotype and baseline hemoglobin and severity (4)
A
- HbAS (trait): Normal
- HbSS: severe; stroke risk
- HbSC: Moderate-severe; stroke much less common
- HbSB+ and HbSBo: moderately severe, Hb severe
15
Q
CBC and SCD (7)
A
- Anemia is expected
- Variations based on genotype and clinical condition—know your patient’s baseline
- Thrombocytosis is common in patients with SCD because of underlying inflammation
- Leukocytosis and thrombocytosis are common during inflammatory crises
- VOC, ACS, osteomyelitis; thrombocytopenia may indicate hepatic or splenic sequestration.
a. Spleen cannot protect against encapsulated organisms - Hydroxyurea may cause pancytopenia
a. Due to increased hemoglobin F - High white cell count, high reticulocytes → always know patient’s normal