A Case on Blood Essay

Doctors determined that Harold is anemic, meaning he is suffering from anemia. Anemia is a condition in which your blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells. Anemia also can occur if your red blood cells do not contain enough hemoglobin. If you have anemia, like Harold, your body doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood. As a result, you may feel tired or weak. You also may have other symptoms, such as shortness of breath, dizziness, or headaches. The primary pieces of evidence from the CBC that point to this diagnosis are the results of the hematocrit and the hemoglobin. Both of these results fall under the reference range for Harold. 4. Harold has a chronic form of atrophic gastritis, so his doctor ordered tests to check his levels of vitamin B12 in his blood. Harold’s gastritis affects these levels by having a lower number than the normal range. Harold would have a deficiency in B12 because it typically occurs in people whose digestive systems do not adequately absorb the vitamin from the foods they eat, for example Atrophic Gastritis. 5. There are several different types of anemia. Harold is suffering from Vitamin deficiency anemia. Beginning with the peripheral blood smear we can describe the key pieces of evidence used to draw this conclusion. Harold’s blood smear we can see an increase area of pale appearance and also the irregular shape in RBC’s. The symptoms Harold was having are associated with Vitamin deficiency anemia. For example, extreme fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat (tachycardia) and difficulty sleeping are all symptoms Harold was having and also are symptoms of Vitamin deficiency anemia. We could also draw this conclusion by the level of hemoglobin. Harold’s hemoglobin level was 10. 6 g/dl. The normal range is 13-18 g/dl. We can obviously draw the conclusion that his hemoglobin levels were below the reference range. 6. Treatment for vitamin deficiency anemia includes supplements and changes in diet. For milder cases of vitamin B-12 deficiency, treatment may involve changes to your diet and vitamin B-12 supplements in pill form or as a nasal spray. In more severe cases, you may receive vitamin B-12 injections. At first you may receive the shots as often as every other day. Eventually you’ll need injections just once a month, which may continue for life, depending on your situation. Harold had already tried changing his diet and the symptoms did not fully go away so he would fall into the category of having a more severe case. This would treat his symptoms by correcting them and Harold would not have to deal with them anymore. . Harold’s tachycardia and chronic gastritis are key pieces of evidence in this case that go beyond what shows up in his CBC. Tachycardia is a sign that Harold has vitamin deficiency anemia because it a symptom that doctors look for when diagnosing this type of anemia. Harold’s chronic gastritis is a cause of him having his condition. We know this because Atrophic gastritis is caused by a lack of vitamin B12 which is what Harold has.