I. What every physician needs to know. There is no active excretory mechanism to remove iron from the body – it is only lost through the shedding of cells via desquamation (dermal, intestinal, and genitourinary) and bleeding. As such, consideration of occult bleeding should be undertaken in adult men and post menopausal women in whom…
Hairy Cell Leukemia I. What every physician needs to know. Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare and highly treatable B cell lymphoproliferative disorder. It is characterized by leukemic hairy cells of specific immunophenotype having strongly positive cytoplasm for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), massive splenomegaly and very little or no involvement of lymph nodes. It…
Essential Thrombocythemia I. What every physician needs to know. Essential Thrombocythemia is also known as Essential Thrombocytosis or ET. ET is considered one of the myeloproliferative disorders and is characterized by persistently elevated platelet counts, usually >600. II. Diagnostic Confirmation: Are you sure your patient has Essential Thrombocythemia? World Health Organization Diagnostic Criteria: Platelets >450K…
Eosinophilia indicates elevated levels of eosinophils in the peripheral blood, usually related to an infectious, neoplastic, or allergic process. Often, high numbers of eosinophils may be present in other body fluids or tissues, but the term typically refers to peripheral blood eosinophilia. It is often defined as an absolute eosinophil count of ≥500 eosinophils/microliter (cells/microL)…
Basophilia I. Problem/Condition. Basophilia is defined as an elevated absolute basophil count greater than 200 cells/uL or relative basophil count greater than 2%, though each laboratory should set their own normal ranges based on the local population. The elevation of these cells can often suggest underlying diseases, such as myeloproliferative disease or chronic inflammation. This…
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia I. Problem/Condition. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a relatively uncommon condition with a prevalence of 17:100,000 people. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia is characterized by an abnormal antibody response to red blood cells resulting in hemolysis. AIHA encompasses three categories: warm autoimmune induced hemolytic anemia (wAIHA), cold agglutinin disease (CAD), and drug induced hemolytic…
. Anemia refers to a low red blood cell (RBC) count – measured as either hemoglobin (HGB) concentration or hematocrit (HCT). Both of these measures are concentrations, so changes in hydration status or plasma volume will affect them. Pregnancy, for example, can result in an expanded plasma volume with falling HCT despite stable total body…
I. What every physician needs to know. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a hematologic malignancy of undifferentiated lymphoid precursor cells, which leads to excessive production of abnormal lymphoblasts in the bone marrow and subsequent hematopoietic failure. Though ALL most commonly occurs in children, it can be seen in all age groups. II. Diagnostic Confirmation: Are…
I. What every physician needs to know. Volvulus refers to torsion of a segment of the alimentary tract, which often leads to bowel obstruction.The most common sites of volvulus are the sigmoid colon and the cecum.Volvulus of other portions of the alimentary tract, such as the stomach, gallbladder, small bowel, splenic flexure, and transverse colon,…
I. What every physician needs to know. Ulcerative colitis, a disease of the mucosal surface of the colon, almost always involves the rectum and may extend proximally in a continuous fashion to involve the entire colon. The extent of the disease varies and in rare cases may involve the ileum, termed “backwash ileitis.” Cases that…
