What is Hemolytic anemia?

Red blood cells have the important purpose of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the heart and throughout the body.

Destruction of red blood cells When the bone marrow overproduces these cells, hemolytic anemia occurs.

Hemolytic anemia can be external or internal.

External hemolytic

External hemolytic anemia develops when the spleen absorbs and destroys healthy red blood cells or by a number of mechanisms, such as the onset of an autoimmune reaction. It can also come from the destruction of red blood cells:

  • Infection
  • Tumors
  • Autoimmune disorders
  • side effects of medications
  • Leukemia
  • Lymphoma
  • Internal hemolytic

Internal hemolytic anemia develops when the red blood cells your body makes do not work properly. This condition is often inherited in people with sickle cell anemia or thalassemia with abnormal hemoglobin.

At other times, inherited metabolic abnormalities, such as red blood cell membrane instability, such as those with G6PD deficiency or inherited spherocytosis, can lead to this condition.

Anyone at any age can develop hemolytic anemia.

Causes

The doctor may not be able to identify the source of the hemolytic anemia. However, many diseases and even some medications can cause this condition.

Causes of external hemolytic anemia:

  • Enlarged spleen
  • Infectious hepatitis
  • Epstein Barr virus
  • Typhoid fever
  • E. coli toxin
  • Leukemia
  • Lymphoma
  • Tumors

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disorder

Viscott-Aldrich syndrome, an autoimmune disorder

Helper syndrome (named for its symptoms, which include hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count)

In some cases, hemolytic anemia is caused by taking certain medications. This is called drug-induced hemolytic anemia. Some examples of medications that can cause the condition are:

  • Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
  • Chlorpromazine (Thorazine)
  • Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB)
  • Alpha interferon
  • procainamide
  • Quinidine
  • Rifampicin (Rifadin)

Each person has a specific blood type (A, B, AB, or O). If you receive an unfavorable blood type, specific immune proteins called antibodies attack the foreign red blood cells. The result is the faster destruction of red blood cells, which can be fatal. That is why doctors must carefully monitor blood types before donating blood.

Some causes of hemolytic anemia are temporary. Hemolytic anemia can be cured if a doctor can identify and treat the underlying cause.

Symptoms:

The symptoms of hemolytic anemia are similar to the usual signs of anemia. Common signs and symptoms include fatigue, paleness, shortness of breath, and rapid heartbeat. In young children, it may happen that not any form of anemia develops. Also, symptoms of hemolysis can include chills, jaundice, dark urine, and an enlarged spleen. History Certain factors in the medical history, such as medications, drug side effects, autoimmune disorders, reactions to blood transfusions, presence of a prosthetic heart valve, or other medical conditions, may indicate a cause of hemolysis.

Chronic hemolysis leads to the excretion of bilirubin in the bile duct, which leads to gallstones. The continuous release of free hemoglobin is associated with the development of pulmonary hypertension (increased pressure on the pulmonary artery); This can lead to episodes of syncope (epilepsy), chest pain, and progressive shortness of breath. Pulmonary hypertension eventually leads to right ventricular heart failure, characterized by peripheral edema (accumulation of fluid on the skin of the legs) and ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity).

Risk factors

Aplastic anemia is very rare. Risk factors:

Cancer treatment with radiation or high-dose chemotherapy

Exposure to toxic chemicals

Use of some prescription drugs: chloramphenicol and gold compounds are used to treat bacterial infections and rheumatoid arthritis.

Certain blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and serious infections.

Pregnancy, Sacramento

Preventive

Many types of anemia cannot be prevented. But it can prevent iron deficiency anemia and vitamin deficiency anemia, which contain a variety of vitamins and minerals.

lIron: Iron-rich foods include beef and other meats, beans, lentils, iron-rich grains, dark green vegetables, and dried fruits.

lFolate This nutrient and its synthetic form can be found in folic acid, fruits and fruit juices, dark vegetables, peas, beans, peanuts, and whole grains like bread, cereals, pasta, and rice.

lB12 vitamin.

lVitamin C Foods high in vitamin C include citrus fruits and juices, bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, watermelons, and strawberries. They also help increase iron absorption.

lIf you are concerned about getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet, ask your doctor if a multivitamin can help.

Diagnosis

Several tests are wont to diagnose hemolytic anemia. These tests can help diagnose, find the cause, and determine the severity of the condition.

Complete blood count

Often the primary test wont to diagnose anemia may be a complete blood count (CBC). The CBC measures most of your blood.

This test checks your hemoglobin and hematocrit (she-mat-oh-cry) levels. Hemoglobin may be a high iron protein in red blood cells, which carries oxygen to the body. Hematocrit may be a measure of what proportion of space red blood cells takes up in your blood. Low hemoglobin or hematocrit levels are a symbol of anemia.

The general range of those levels can vary within certain races and ethnic populations. Your doctor can explain the results of your test to you.

 Abnormal results are often a symbol of hemolytic anemia, a special blood disease, an infection, or another condition.

Finally, the CBC observes the mean corpuscular volume (core-pus-q-lar) (MCV). The MCV may be a measure of the typical size of your red blood cells. There could also be a clue to the explanation for your anemia.

Other blood tests

If the CBC results confirm that you simply have anemia, you'll need other blood tests to seek out what sort of anemia you've got and the way severe it's.

Reticulocyte count. The reticulocyte count (re-tick-you-in-site) may be a measure of the amount of young red blood cells in your blood. Tests show if your bone marrow is making red blood cells at the right rate.

People with hemolytic anemia often have a high reticulocyte count because their bone marrow works hard to exchange destroyed red blood cells.

Peripheral smear. For this test, your doctor will check out your red blood cells under a microscope. Some sorts of hemolytic anemia change the traditional shape of red blood cells.

Coombs test. This test shows if your body is making antibodies (proteins) to destroy red blood cells.

Haptoglobin, bilirubin, and liver function tests. Hemoglobin binds to a chemical called haptoglobin. Low levels of hepatoglobin within the bloodstream are a symbol of hemolytic anemia.

Hemoglobin breaks down into a compound called bilirubin. High levels of bilirubin within the bloodstream are often a symbol of hemolytic anemia. High levels of this compound also can occur with some diseases of the liver and gallbladder. Therefore, you'll need liver function tests to seek out what causes high bilirubin levels.

Hemoglobin electrophoresis. This test looks at differing types of hemoglobin in your blood. this may help determine the sort of anemia you've got.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) tests. In PNH, the red blood cells lack certain proteins. PNH tests can detect red blood cells that don't have these proteins.

Osmotic brittleness test. These cells are often a symbol of hereditary spherocytosis (a hereditary sort of hemolytic anemia).

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency test. In G6PD deficiency, red blood cells lose a crucial enzyme called G6PD. The G6PD deficiency test looks for this enzyme within the blood sample.

Urine test

A urine test looks for the presence of free hemoglobin (a protein that carries oxygen within the blood) and iron.

Bone marrow tests

Bone marrow tests show if your bone marrow is healthy and is making enough blood cells.

For a bone marrow aspiration, your doctor will remove a little amount of fluid from the bone marrow through a needle. The sample is examined under a microscope to see for defective particles.

The bone marrow biopsy is often done as an aspiration or at an equivalent time. For this test, your doctor will remove the bone marrow tissue with a needle. The tissue is examined to see the amount and sort of cells within the bone marrow.

You do not need bone marrow tests if blood tests show that it's the explanation for your haemolytic anaemia .

Treatment

Treatment options for hemolytic anemia vary depending on the cause of the anemia, the severity of the condition, your age, your health, and your tolerance for certain toxins.

Treatment options for hemolytic anemia may include:

Red blood cell transplant

IVIG

Source of immunity booster such as corticosteroids

Surgery

Red blood cell transplant

A red blood cell transplant is given to quickly increase the red blood cell count and replace damaged red blood cells with new ones.

IVIG

If the immune system is causing hemolytic anemia, you may be given immune globulin in the hospital to slow down the body's immune system.

Corticosteroids

In the case of an external manifestation of hemolytic anemia of autoimmune origin, corticosteroids may be prescribed. These can slow down the activity of your immune system to prevent the destruction of red blood cells. Other immunosuppressive medications can be used to achieve the same goal.

Surgery

Removing the spleen can reduce the rate at which red blood cells are destroyed. It is usually used as an option in cases of immune hemolysis that do not respond to corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs.

Look at it

Hemolytic anemia affects people of all ages and has many causes. For some, the symptoms are mild and resolve with time and without treatment. Others need lifelong caution.

Taking care of yourself when a person has early symptoms of anemia is the first step to feeling better in the long run. Hemolytic anemia can be treated by a Hematologist. Skedoc helps you find the best doctor for any type of disease. 

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