Iron deficiency anaemia Flashcards
How can the causes of iron deficiency anaemia be categorised? (HINT: 4 categories)
Which cause is most common in…
a) children?
b) adults?
- Insufficient dietary intake (most common cause in children)
- Poor absorption
- Increased requirements, e.g. during pregnancy
- Blood loss (most common cause in adults)
Whereabouts in the body is iron absorbed?
Duodenum and jejunum
What can cause poor absorption of iron?
- Medications which reduce stomach acid production, e.g. PPIs (stomach acid keeps iron in its soluble form)
- GI conditions affecting the duodenum/jejunum, e.g. Crohn’s disease, Coeliac disease
What are the two most common causes of blood loss causing iron deficiency anaemia?
- Blood loss from GI tract
- Menorrhagia (in menstruating women)
If serum ferritin is low, this is highly suggestive of…
Iron deficiency anaemia
Ferritin can increase as a result of inflammation, for example with infection or malignancy… True or false?
True - ferritin is an acute phase reactant
A patient with a normal serum ferritin can still have iron deficiency anaemia… True or false?
True
What happens to total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation in…
a) Iron deficiency anaemia?
b) Iron overload?
a) Both TIBC and transferrin saturation increase in IDA
b) Both TIBC and transferrin saturation decrease in iron overload
How should new IDA without a clear underlying cause be investigated?
OGD and colonoscopy to r/o GI malignancy
What are the three methods for treating iron deficiency anaemia?
1) Blood transfusion (fastest but most invasive)
2) Iron infusion, e.g. Ferinject
3) Oral iron tablets (slowest but least invasive)
When correcting IDA with oral iron tablets, you can expect the Hb to rise by (…?) grams/L per week
10 grams/L per week
When correcting IDA with blood transfusion, you can expect 1 unit of blood to increase the Hb by (…?) grams/L
1 unit = increase Hb by 10 grams/L
