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NORMAL HEMOGLOBIN (HGB) AND MEAN CORPUSCULAR VOLUME (MCV) BY AGE

  • Red blood cell (RBC) parameters vary with age, race, and gender (Table 15-1).

  • Lower limit of normal (3rd percentile) Hgb from age 1-10 years = 11 + (0.1xAge).

  • Lower limit of normal (3rd percentile) MCV from age 1-10 years = 70 + Age.

TABLE 15-1.Normal Hemoglobin (Hgb) and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) by Age

ANEMIA

DEFINITION

  • Physiological: Hgb level too low to meet cellular oxygen demands.

  • Practical: Hgb level 2 SD below mean for age, gender, and race.

CLASSIFICATION

  • Based on red blood cell (RBC) size, also known as MCV (see Table 15-2).

  • Classification is based on mechanism:

    • Blood loss or RBC sequestration (e.g., trauma).

    • RBC destruction (high reticulocyte count) (e.g., ABO incompatibility in newborn).

    • Decreased RBC production (low reticulocyte count) (e.g., aplastic anemia).

  • Hemolytic anemia is mediated by either intrinsic RBC defects or disorders extrinsic to the red cell (see Figure 15-1).

TABLE 15-2.Anemias
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

  • Less oxygen transport and decreased blood volume lead to clinical consequences.

  • Physiological adaptations include:

    • Increased heart rate and stroke volume (increases cardiac output).

    • Increased 2,3 diphosphoglycerate (DPG) levels (leads to decreased O2 affinity of Hgb and better O2 delivery).

    • Vasodilatation (expands blood volume).

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

  • Somnolence, light-headedness, headache, and easy fatiguability.

  • Exertional dyspnea, palpitations, sinus tachycardia, and flow ...

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