490
CMDT 2013
13 cc
Blood Disorders Lloyd E. Damon, MD Charalambos Andreadis, MD Charles A. Linker, MD
ANEMIAS
IRon deficiency ANEMIAS
``General Approach to Anemias Anemia is present in adults if the hematocrit is < 41% (hemoglobin < 13.5 g/dL) in males or < 36% (hemoglobin < 12 g/dL) in females. Congenital anemia is suggested by the patient’s personal and family history. The most common cause of anemia is iron deficiency. Poor diet may result in folic acid deficiency and contribute to iron deficiency, but bleeding is much more commonly the cause of iron deficiency in adults. Physical examination demonstrates pallor. Attention to physical signs of primary hematologic diseases (lymphadenopathy; hepatosplenomegaly; or bone tenderness, especially in the sternum or anterior tibia) is important. Mucosal changes such as a smooth tongue suggest megaloblastic anemia. Anemias are classified according to their pathophysiologic basis, ie, whether related to diminished production (relative or absolute reticulocytopenia) or accelerated loss of red blood cells (reticulocytosis) (Table 13–1), and according to red blood cell size (Table 13–2). A reticulocytosis occurs in one of three pathophysiologic states: acute blood loss, recent replacement of a missing erythropoietic nutrient, or reduced red blood cell survival (ie, hemolysis). A severely microcytic anemia (mean corpuscular volume [MCV] < 70 fL) is due either to iron deficiency or thalassemia, while a severely macrocytic anemia (MCV > 125 fL) is almost always due to either megaloblastic anemia or to cold agglutinins in blood analyzed at room temperature. A bone marrow biopsy is generally needed to complete the evaluation of anemia when the laboratory evaluation fails to reveal an etiology, when there are additional cytopenias present, or when an underlying primary or secondary bone marrow process is suspected.
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Essentials of diagnosis
Iron deficiency if serum ferritin < 12 ng/mL or < 30 ng/mL if also anemic. `` Caused by bleeding unless proved otherwise. `` Responds to iron therapy. ``
``General Considerations Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia worldwide. The causes are listed in Table 13–3. Aside from circulating red blood cells, the major location of iron in the body is the storage pool as ferritin or as hemosiderin in macrophages. The average American diet contains 10–15 mg of iron per day. About 10% of this amount is absorbed in the stomach, duodenum, and upper jejunum under acidic conditions. Dietary iron present as heme is efficiently absorbed (10–20%) but nonheme iron less so (1–5%), largely because of interference by phosphates, tannins, and other food constituents. The major iron transporter from the diet across the intestinal lumen is ferroportin, which also facilitates the transport of iron in macrophages to apotransferrin for delivery to erythroid cells prepared to synthesize hemoglobin. Hepcidin, produced during inflammation, negatively regulates iron transport by promoting the degradation of ferroportin. Small amounts of iron— approximately 1 mg/d—are normally lost through exfoliation of skin and mucosal cells. Menstrual blood loss plays a major role in iron metabolism. The average monthly menstrual blood loss is