I. The clinical presentation of the disease.
According to the National Institute of Health, fatigue is the most common symptom of every type of anemia. The fatigue is caused by a decrease in red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Other anemia symptoms due to decreased oxygen carrying capacity are: shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, coldness in hands and feet, pale skin, and chest pain ("What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?," 2014). The erythrocytopenia causes the heart to exert more effort to pump oxygen rich blood to the tissues. This extra effort can lead to arrhythmias, heart murmurs, enlargement of the heart, or heart failure. Brittle nails, swollen tongue, sores on mouth, splenomegaly, and recurrent infections are more …show more content…
The following test may also be ordered: serum ferritin, serum iron, and total iron binding capacity or transferrin. Serum iron measures the amount of iron in the blood. The levels can be normal, while the total iron in the body is low. The protein, ferritin, helps with iron storage. It tells how much stored iron has been used. Transferrin carries iron in the blood. Total iron-binding capacity measures the amount of the transferrin that is not carrying iron ("What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?," 2014). The hematocrit and hemoglobin levels will be decreased in iron deficiency anemia. The mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum iron, and iron saturations levels will all be lower than normal. On the other hand in IDA, the transferrin or total iron binding capacity test will yield high results, because transferrin is not binding iron due to the decreased levels of iron. The peripheral smear will display microcytic, hypochromic cells. There may also be an increased number of reticulocytes, as the body tries to compensate for the anemia. The deficiency causes a decrease in white blood cells, and the platelet count will be variable. With male patients, women who are postmenopausal, or adolescent females with severe anemia, the physician may order or do the following: a fecal occult blood test, look for bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract via endoscopy, capsule enteroscopy, barium enema, barium swallow, or small bowel biopsy, and a urinalysis in search of hemoglobin or blood ("Iron-Deficiency Anemia," n.d.). For the female patients with menorrhagia, the doctor may perform a pelvic ultrasound or uterine biopsy to look for fibroids causing the condition leading to the deficiency ("Iron-Deficiency Anemia,"
According to the National Institute of Health, fatigue is the most common symptom of every type of anemia. The fatigue is caused by a decrease in red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Other anemia symptoms due to decreased oxygen carrying capacity are: shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, coldness in hands and feet, pale skin, and chest pain ("What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?," 2014). The erythrocytopenia causes the heart to exert more effort to pump oxygen rich blood to the tissues. This extra effort can lead to arrhythmias, heart murmurs, enlargement of the heart, or heart failure. Brittle nails, swollen tongue, sores on mouth, splenomegaly, and recurrent infections are more …show more content…
The following test may also be ordered: serum ferritin, serum iron, and total iron binding capacity or transferrin. Serum iron measures the amount of iron in the blood. The levels can be normal, while the total iron in the body is low. The protein, ferritin, helps with iron storage. It tells how much stored iron has been used. Transferrin carries iron in the blood. Total iron-binding capacity measures the amount of the transferrin that is not carrying iron ("What Is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?," 2014). The hematocrit and hemoglobin levels will be decreased in iron deficiency anemia. The mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum iron, and iron saturations levels will all be lower than normal. On the other hand in IDA, the transferrin or total iron binding capacity test will yield high results, because transferrin is not binding iron due to the decreased levels of iron. The peripheral smear will display microcytic, hypochromic cells. There may also be an increased number of reticulocytes, as the body tries to compensate for the anemia. The deficiency causes a decrease in white blood cells, and the platelet count will be variable. With male patients, women who are postmenopausal, or adolescent females with severe anemia, the physician may order or do the following: a fecal occult blood test, look for bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract via endoscopy, capsule enteroscopy, barium enema, barium swallow, or small bowel biopsy, and a urinalysis in search of hemoglobin or blood ("Iron-Deficiency Anemia," n.d.). For the female patients with menorrhagia, the doctor may perform a pelvic ultrasound or uterine biopsy to look for fibroids causing the condition leading to the deficiency ("Iron-Deficiency Anemia,"