The Evaluation of the Anemic Patient Flashcards
what is anemia?
hematocrit below the normal range for the specific species
what is the significance of anemia?
decreased hematocrit results in decreased oxygen delivery to tissues
marker of systemic disease
helpful in guiding diagnostic evaluation
what are the causes of anemia?
decreased production
increased loss
hemolysis
combination
what can lead to regenerative anemia?
loss
hemolysis
what can lead to non-regenerative anemia?
bone marrow disease
acute loss or hemolysis
what colors should you check the plasma for in anemia?
icteric
hemolyzed
what can be seen with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia on a blood smear?
spherocytes
auto-agglutination
why should you consider a bone marrow aspirate with non-regenerative anemia?
etiology
prognosis
what are the common causes of blood loss?
wounds
gastrointestinal
cavity
with what type of bleeding might you have high BUN?
gastrointestinal bleeding
what can be found on examination of an animal with hemolysis?
signalment
icterus
hepatosplenomegaly
fever
bounding pulses
what can be seen on laboratory tests with decreased production?
non-regenerative anemia
leukopenia
thrombocytopenia
chemistry profile/urinalysis normal
what are the common causes of decreased production?
anemia of chronic disease
bone marrow failure
feline leukemia
Ehrlichia canis
what are the specific therapies for anemia?
surgery
gastrointestinal protectants
vitamin K
immunosuppressive
doxycycline
what makes an anemia regenerative?
reticulocytes
>60,000/ul
what should you look at on a blood smear of an anemic patient?
abnormal cells
platelet numbers
cell morphology
regeneration
what is feline leukemia a common cause of?
non-regenerative anemia
Mycoplasma hemofelis
how can you tell anemia is from blood loss?
low to low normal platelets
maybe regeneration
low total proteins
elevated BUN if gastrointestina
what can cause gastrointestinal bleeding?
ulcer
thrombocytopenia
what are the common causes of hemolysis?
idiopathic
drug/vaccine
zinc
onions
neoplasia
what can cause bone marrow failure?
toxins
immune-mediated
idiopathic
what are the supportive therapies for anemia?
oxygen
transfusion: red blood cells, plasma, other
what does all bleeding result from?
damage to vessel/organ
coagulopathy
what are the major interventions for bleeding?
surgical
transfusion: plasma, platelet, fresh whole blood?, packed red blood cells
supportive for underlying disease
what can waiting to fix surgical bleeding lead to?
loss of factors/platelets
possibly accelerated fibrinolysis
what are the common coagulopathies?
thrombocytopenia
von willebrand’s disease
anticoagulant rodenticide
DIC
how can you treat ITP?
immunosuppressives
vincristine
whole blood or packed red blood cell transfusions
when can you taper drugs for ITP if there is no specific underlying cause?
9-12 months
should you give a platelet transfusion for ITP?
probably no
what is fibrinolysis for?
normal clot breakdown after healing is complete
what is premature fibrinolysis associated with?
bleeding
which animals have accelerated fibrinolysis?
greyhounds
dogs with severe bleeding
what are some causes of anemia in cats?
pure red cell aplasia
FELV
urinary bleeding
IMHA and trauma far less commonly
