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Questions and Answers
What is the primary cause of anemia?
How can polycythemia be caused?
Which of the following is NOT a cause of blood disorders?
What term describes the condition where there is a decrease in all three blood cell types?
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What does qualitative blood disorder stem from?
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What is a significant characteristic of bone marrow cells?
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Which disorder involves a marked increase in blood cell production?
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Which kind of blood disorder occurs due to an intrinsic defect within the blood?
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Which symptom is specifically associated with iron-deficiency anemia?
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The classification of anemia based on erythrocyte production deficiencies includes which category?
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What condition results in an increased reticulocyte count?
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Which of the following may cause marrow damage leading to hypoproliferative anemia?
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Which of the following is NOT a symptom of anemia?
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Which factor is essential for erythrocyte formation that may be lacking in hypoproliferative anemia?
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What is a common complication of hemolytic anemia due to the increase in bilirubin concentration?
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What is the primary diagnostic method for assessing complete hematologic studies?
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Study Notes
Blood Dyscrasias
- A blood dyscrasia is an abnormal or pathologic condition of the blood.
- Bone marrow cells are especially vulnerable to physiologic changes that can affect cell production because they reproduce rapidly and have a short life span.
- Blood disorders can be primary (resulting from a problem within the blood itself) or secondary (resulting from a cause other than a defect in the blood).
- They can be quantitative (resulting from increased or decreased cell production or cell destruction) or qualitative (stemming from intrinsic cell abnormalities or plasma component dysfunction).
- Blood disorders can be caused by:
- Trauma
- Chronic disease
- Surgery
- Malnutrition
- Drugs and toxins
- Radiation
- Genetic or congenital defects
- Sepsis
Anemia
- A condition with a lower than normal hemoglobin concentration, reflecting fewer than the normal number of erythrocytes within the circulation.
- The amount of oxygen delivered to body tissues is diminished.
- Anemia is not a specific disease state, but a sign of an underlying disorder.
- It is the most common hematologic condition.
Anemia Symptoms
- Dyspnea
- Chest pain
- Muscle pain or cramping
- Tachycardia
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- General malaise
- Pallor of the skin and mucous membranes
- Jaundice (megaloblastic or hemolytic anemia)
- Smooth, red tongue (iron-deficiency anemia)
- Beefy, red, sore tongue (megaloblastic anemia)
- Angular cheilosis (ulceration of the corner of the mouth)
- Brittle, ridged, concave nails and pica (unusual craving for starch, dirt, ice) in patients with iron-deficiency anemia
Assessing and Diagnosing Anemia
- Complete hematologic studies (hemoglobin, hematocrit, reticulocyte count, and red blood cell indices, particularly the mean corpuscular volume [MCV] and RBC distribution width [RDW])
- Iron studies (serum iron level, total iron-binding capacity [TIBC], percent saturation, and ferritin)
- Serum vitamin B12 and folate levels; haptoglobin and erythropoietin levels
- Bone marrow aspiration
Classifying Anemia (Physiological Approach)
- Anemia can be classified according to whether the deficiency in erythrocytes is caused by:
- A defect in their production (Hypoproliferative Anemia)
- Destruction (Hemolytic Anemia)
- Loss (bleeding).
Hypoproliferative Anemias
- May result from:
- Marrow damage due to medications (e.g., chloramphenicol) or chemicals (e.g., benzene)
- Lack of factors (e.g., iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, erythropoietin) necessary for erythrocyte formation.
- Reflected by a low or inappropriately normal Reticulocyte Count.
Hemolytic Anemias
- May result from:
- Hemolysis due to an abnormality within the erythrocyte itself (e.g., sickle cell anemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G-6-PD] deficiency)
- Hemolysis due to an abnormality within the plasma (e.g., immune hemolytic anemias)
- Direct injury to the erythrocyte within the circulation (e.g., hemolysis caused by a mechanical heart valve).
- Bilirubin concentration rises.
- Increased Reticulocyte Count.
- Common causes include:
- Inherited Hemolytic Anemia
- Abnormal Hemoglobin
- Sickle cell anemia
- Thalassemia
- Red Blood Cell Membrane Abnormality
- Hereditary spherocytosis
- Hereditary elliptocytosis
- Acanthocytosis
- Stomatocytosis
- Enzyme Deficiencies
- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
- Abnormal Hemoglobin
- Acquired Hemolytic Anemia
- Antibody Related
- Iso-antibody/transfusion reaction
- Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
- Cold agglutinin disease
- Not Antibody Related
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
- Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA)
- Hypersplenism
- Infections (e.g., malaria)
- Mechanical trauma (e.g., prosthetic heart valves)
- Burns
- Chemicals, toxins, or drugs
- Drugs
- Antibody Related
- Inherited Hemolytic Anemia
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Description
Explore the concepts of blood dyscrasias and anemia in this informative quiz. Understand the causes, characteristics, and classifications of these blood disorders, including primary and secondary types. Test your knowledge on the factors affecting blood health and the implications of blood conditions on overall health.
