PBL Review Flashcards
What can be given as a treament for microcytic anaemia? [1]
What alternative can be given if first line treatment causes bad side effects? [1]
Oral iron: Ferrous sulphate.
Can give ferrous gluconate if side effects are bad
Name a disease that commonly causes Anaemia of chronic inflammatory disease [1]
rheumatoid arthritis
State two drugs that can cause B12 deficiency [2]
Name two autoimmune conditions that can cause B12 deficiency [2]
Drugs:
* Nitrous oxide
* Metformin
Autoimmune conditions:
* Crohns diease
* Pernicious anaemia
Describe the process of normal metabolism of B12 [7]
i. B12 broken down from protein
ii. Binds to haptocorrin in stomach
iii. Dissociates from haptocorrin
iv. Binds to stomach intrinsic factor
v. Absorbed in terminal ileum into blood
vi. In blood, binds with transcobalamin
vii. Stored in liver
Explain why assessing serum B12 levels may be deceptive [1]
B12 is either active or inactive in blood. Therefore may say have normal levels even though patient is deficient as they only have inactive B12
How do you calculate MCV? [1]
What is the unit [1]
MCV = Haematocrit / (Hb X RBC). It is expressed in femtolitres (fl) (1015 fl = litre)
Following haemorrhage there will be a what type of anaema in the short term? [1]
Explain your answer [1]
Following haemorrhage there will be a normocytic anaemia due to haemodilution, in the short term.
What serum markers would indicate someone is suffering from pernicious anaemia? [2]
- Antibodies to intrinsic factor
- Antibodies to gastric parietal cells occur in serum.
Which cell in the bone marrow differentiates into a common myeloid progenitor? (1 mark)
Haematopoietic stem cells
Which cells secrete intrinsic factor and where are they located? (1 mark)
Parietal cells [0.5] gastric mucosa [0.5]
How can reticulocytes be differentiated from erythrocytes on a blood film (1 mark).
Each point is worth half a mark
Reticulocytes are stained blue [0.5]
Reticulocytes bigger [0.5]
Ribosomes present [0.5]
How will the blood count of someone suffering from acute blood loss differ from someone suffering from chronic blood loss? (2 marks)
Acute: normocytic anaemia [1]
Chronic: IDA -> hypochromic microcytic anaemia [1]
Calculate a patient’s mean corpuscular volume, if their haematocrit = 0.45, Hb = 120 g/l, red cell count = 5 x 1012 /l (2 marks)
MCV = 0.45 / 5 x1012
= 90 fL
Heart Failure
Explain why the patient is breathless [1]
This is because the pulmonary venous pressure exceeds the oncotic pressures maintaining fluid within the pulmonary capillaries (cf Starling Principle). Breathlessness may then be due to inadequate transfer of oxygen from the alveoli to the blood.
Heart failure
Explain why the patient’s breathlessness is raised at night [3]
- This becomes exaggerated at night as the pulmonary venous pressure increases when someone is lying down and also because the respiratory drive is reduced during sleep.
- there is less sympathetic bronchodilation during sleep and this decreases oxygen diffusion into the alveoli.
- nerve endings in the lungs are activated and trigger an alarm reaction that wakes him up.
Heart failure
Explain the different lung sounds heard in the during heart failure [2
Crackles: bubbling or popping sounds that represent the presence of fluid or secretions, or the sudden opening of closed airways.
* Crackles that result from fluid (pulmonary edema) or secretions (pneumonia) are described as “wet” or “coarse,”
* Crackles that occur from the sudden opening of closed airways (atelectasis) are referred to as “dry” or “fine.”
Explain 5 symptoms of aortic stenosis [5]
i. Dyspnoea - increase in diastolic pressure in stiff non-compliant LV. LV is thicker because has to use more energy to expel blood (hypertrophy)
ii. Angina - increase O2 demand of hypertrophied LV
iii. Syncope - either paroxysmal ventricular arrhythmias or exertional cerebral hypoperfusion (less blood is leaving)
iv. LVF - contractile failure as ventricle dilates – causes heart failure
v. Sudden death - ventricular arrhythmias
What is the preferred imaging for aortic stenosis? [1]
Echocardiogram
What are the treatments for systolic heart failure? [9]
- ACE-Is (all grades of heart failure). Can cause dry cough.
- ARBs (if ACE-Is cannot be tolerated)
- beta-blockers (all grades of heart failure)
- spironolactone (NYHA grade III and IV only)
- Devices:
* cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) (pacemaker: causes two sides of heart to pump together – increases EF)
* ± ICD implanted cardiac defib: monitors heart rhythm – if goes into VF or VT, will give a shock into normal rhythm) - ARB/neprilysin inhibitor (neprilysin inhibits breakdown of BNP) (It includes the neprilysin inhibitor sacubitril (AHU377) and the ARB valsartan)
- SGLT-2 inhibitors (ESC guidelines 2021).
- Heart transplant
How does dilated cardiomyopathy lead to HF?
i. Causes nonsynchronous myocytes: impaired ventricular filling
ii. Decreases stroke volume
iii. Decreases cardiac output
iv. Increases preload
Acute LVF causes what type of lung failure? [1]
Type 1 resp. failure
Testing for BNP is sensitive but not specific. This means that when negative it is useful in ruling out heart failure, but when positive result
can have other causes. Other causes of a raised BNP include:? [5]
- Tachycardia
- Sepsis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Renal impairment
- COPD
Acute managment for LVF? [4]
Chronic HF management? [4]
ABAL
- ACE inhibitor (e.g. ramipril titrated as tolerated up to 10mg once daily)
- Beta Blocker (e.g. bisoprolol titrated as tolerated up to 10mg once daily)
- Aldosterone antagonist when symptoms not controlled with A and B (spironolactone or eplerenone)(spiro causes man boobs)
- Loop diuretics improves symptoms (e.g. furosemide 40mg once daily)