Vascular and Haematology Flashcards
What are the symptoms of chronic limb ischaemia?
Most patients are asymptomatic
Intermittent claudication - pain on exercise, relieved by rest
Diminished or absent pulse
Can progress to critical limb ischaemia and pain on rest
Symptoms worsened when lying down
What are the signs of acute limb ischaemia?
Pallor
Perishingly cold
Pulselessness
Pain
Paraesthesia
Paralysis
What are the features of critical limb ischaemia?
ischaemic rest pain >2 weeks, requiring opiate analgesia
presence of ischaemic lesions/ulcers/gangrene
ABPI <0.5
what are the differentials for chronic limb ischaemia?
spinal stenosis: symptoms relieved by sitting, pain from back radiating down leg
acute limb ischaemia: rapid onset
What are the risk factors for PAD?
Smoking
Diabetes
HTN
Hyperlipidaemia
Age >40 years
How is PAD diagnosed?
Ankle-brachial index (0.9 for diagnosis, claudication: 0.4-0.9, rest pain: 0.2-0.4, tissue loss and gangrene: 0-0.4)
Handheld arterial Doppler examination
Assess whether ischaemia is due to thrombus (atherosclerotic plaque) or embolus (secondary to AF)
How is acute limb ischaemia treated?
high flow oxygen and IV heparin immediately
surgery: embolectomy, local intra-arterial thrombolysis, bypass surgery
irreversible limb ischaemia requires amputation
How is claudication treated?
80mg atorvastatin OD
75mg clopidogrel OD
smoking cessation and supervised exercise programme
naftidrofuryl oxalate (vasodilator)
treat comorbidities (HTN, diabetes, obesity)
What are the symptoms of varicose veins?
Dilated tortuous veins
Leg fatigue or aching with prolonged standing (improves with elevation)
Leg cramps, usually nocturnal
Venous ulcers
Oedema
What are the risk factors for varicose veins?
Increasing age
Female gender
Pregnancy - the uterus causes compression of the pelvic veins
Obesity
How are varicose veins investigated?
Duplex ultrasound (retrograde venous flow)
How are varicose veins treated?
MOSTLY CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT - leg elevation, weight loss, exercise, compression stockings
Endovenous thermal ablation (radiofrequency or laser)
Phlebectomy or foam sclerotherapy
How is leukaemia investigated?
Pancytopenia (anaemia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia)
Blood film
LDH (raised, non-specific)
Bone marrow biopsy
CT, MRI or PET (staging)
CXR (lymph node involvement, infection)
Lymph node biopsy
What is AML?
Rapid proliferation of myeloblasts
What are the risk factors for acute myeloid leukaemia?
Increasing age (most common in adults)
Previous chemotherapy
Down’s syndrome
Irradiation
Myeloproliferative disorder, e.g. polycythaemia ruby vera or myelofibrosis
What are the symptoms of acute myeloid leukaemia?
Anaemia: pallor, lethargy, weakness
Neutropenia: frequent infections, fever
Thrombocytopenia: bleeding, petechiae, abnormal bruising
Splenomegaly
Bone pain
What is characteristic of the blood film of AML?
High proportion of blast cells with Auer rods in their cytoplasm
What is ALL?
Rapid proliferation of lymphoblasts
What are the risk factors for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?
Most common childhood cancer
Genetics and FHx
Down’s syndrome
Influenza
Radiation
What are the symptoms of ALL?
Bone pain
Hepatosplenomegaly
Painless unilateral testicular swelling
Pancytopenia symptoms (fever, bleeding, lethargy)
Focal neurological symptoms, papilloedema, nuchal rigidity
Lymphadenopathy (unlike in AML)
Fever, weight loss, night sweats
What is characteristic of the blood film of ALL?
> 20% lymphoblasts on bone marrow biopsy
What is CML?
Hyperproliferation of granulocyte precursors
What are the risk factors for chronic myeloid leukaemia?
Philadelphia chromosome
Age >65
What are the phases of CML?
Chronic phase (lasts 5 years, asymptomatic, diagnosed incidentally with raised WCC)
Accelerated phase (abnormal blast cells take high proportion of cells in bone marrow - patients become more symptomatic and immunocompromised)
Blast crisis (like an acute leukaemia, severe, fatal)
What are the symptoms of CML?
Up to 50% are asymptomatic - more likely to be asymptomatic during chronic phase
Hyperviscosity symptoms (due to more RBCs) - thrombotic events, headaches
Hypermetabolic symptoms: weight loss, night sweats, malaise
Bone marrow failure: pallor, bleeding, infections/fever
Splenomegaly (more than in acute as time for spleen to enlarge)
Decreased leukocyte ALP
What is chronic lymphocytic leukaemia?
Progressive accumulation of functionally incompetent lymphocytes (failure of apoptosis of incompetent cells)
What are the symptoms of CLL?
Often asymptomatic - can present with infections, anaemia, bleeding, weight loss
Non-tender lymphadenopathy
Warm autoimmune haemolytic anaemia
Can transform into high-grade lymphoma - Richter’s transformation (non-Hodgkin lymphoma)
What does a blood film show with CLL?
‘Smear’ or smudge’ blood cells - from rupture of aged or fragile WBCs
What are the risk factors for Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
HIV
Epstein-Barr virus
Autoimmune conditions, e.g. RA and sarcoidosis
FHx
What are the symptoms of Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
Painless enlarging neck mass, which may become painful after alcohol consumption
Non-tender, ‘rubbery’ lymph nodes with hepatosplenomegaly
Fever, weight loss, night sweats
Neutrophilia
Skin excoriations
How is Hodgkin’s lymphoma investigated?
LDH (raised)
FBC (normocytic anaemia, eosinophilia)
Lymph node biopsy (Reed-Sternberg cells - bi-nucleate, large B cells)
CT, MRI, PET for staging
What are the risk factors for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
More common than Hodgkin’s lymphoma
EBV
FHx
History of chemo- or radiotherapy
Immunodeficiency (transplant, HIV, diabetes mellitus)
Autoimmune disease (SLE, Sjogren’s, coeliac)
What are the symptoms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
Painless enlarging mass in neck, axilla or groin
Fever, weight loss, night sweats (less common than HL)
Skin rashes (e.g. mycosis fungoides), headache, hepatosplenomegaly (more common than HL)
Neutropenia
How is non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosed?
Lymph node biopsy - no Reed-Sternberg cells
What is Burkitt’s lymphoma?
Subtype of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Strong association with EBV infection, malaria, HIV
Gives starry sky appearance under microscopy
What is multiple myeloma?
Proliferation of plasma cells (B-lymphocytes) - production of a monoclonal immunoglobulin (IgA or IgG)
What are the risk factors for multiple myeloma?
Male
Black African ethnicity
Older age
FHx
Obesity
Ionising radiation
What are the features of multiple myeloma?
Hypercalcaemia (constipation, nausea, anorexia, confusion) - increased osteoclastic bone resporption
Renal impairment - dehydration and increasing thirst
Normocytic anaemia - due to bone marrow crowding suppressing EPO production
Bone lesions - increased osteoclast activity (bony pain)
Infection
Hyperviscosity (bruising, bleeding, visual loss, palmar erythema)
How is multiple myeloma investigated?
Urine protein electrophoresis (Bence-Jones protein)
Serum protein electrophoresis
Blood film (Rouleaux formation)
Bone profile (hypercalcaemia, normal ALP - in bone cancer, ALP is raised)
U&Es (raised urea, creatinine)
FBC (normocytic anaemia)
Bone marrow aspirate (increased plasma cells)
X-ray (‘raindrop skull’, lytic lesions, punched out lesions)
How is multiple myeloma treated?
Chemotherapy with bortezomid, thalidomide, dexamethasone
Stem cell transplantation
Aspirin/low molecular weight heparin for thromboembolism prophylaxis
What are the risk factors for haemophilia?
FHx
Male sex
What are the signs and symptoms of haemophilia?
Haemarthrosis (bleeding into joints) - can lead to joint damage and deformity
Haematoma (bleeding into muscles)
Excessive bruising
Haematuria and GI bleeding
Prolonged bleeding after surgery or trauma
How is haemophilia investigated?
APTT (prolonged)
Coagulation factor assay (decreased factor VIII or IX levels)
How is haemophilia managed?
IV infusions of factor VIII or IX - can lead to antibodies against the clotting factor
What are the myeloproliferative disorders?
Primary myelofibrosis (proliferation of haematopoietic stem cells)
Polycythaemia vera (proliferation of erythroid cell line)
Essential thrombocythaemia (megakaryocytic cell line)
They have the potential to transform into acute myeloid leukaemia
What are the features of polycythaemia vera?
pruritus, typically after a hot bath
splenomegaly
hypertension
hyperviscosity (arterial and venous thrombosis)
haemorrhage (secondary to abnormal platelet function)
low ESR
JAK-2 mutation
How is polycythaemia vera investigated?
FBC (raised haematocrit)
JAK2 mutation
Serum ferritin
Renal and liver function tests
What is myelofibrosis?
Proliferation of the cell line leads to fibrosis of the bone marrow - can lead to anaemia and leukopenia, as production of blood cells is disrupted
Haematopoiesis begins in other areas, e.g. the liver and the spleen - hepatosplenomegaly, portal hypertension, spinal cord compression
What are the features of myelofibrosis?
Elderly person with symptoms of anaemia (e.g. fatigue)
massive splenomegaly
hypermetabolic symptoms: weight loss, night sweats etc
How is myelofibrosis investigated?
Bone marrow biopsy (dry tap)
Blood film: ‘tear drop’ poikilocytes
Anaemia
High urate and LDH
What are the symptoms of DIC?
Oliguria, hypotension, tachycardia (signs of circulatory collapse)
Delirium or coma
Bleeding
Bruising
SOB
What are the risk factors for DIC?
Sepsis
Trauma
Obstetric complications
Malignancy
How is DIC diagnosed?
Prolonged PT and APTT
Low platelets and fibrinogen
Low haemoglobin
High D-dimer
How is DIC treated?
Treat underlying conditions
FFP (replace clotting factors)
Cryoprecipitate (replaces fibrinogen)
Anticoagulation (heparin)