HOSPITAL LAB TESTS CAN LEAD TO ANEMIA

 Anyone who has been hospitalized knows that taking blood (phlebotomy) for lab tests is a frequent occurrence. What is not often realized, by either patients or doctors, is that repeated phlebotomy can lead to so much blood loss that it can cause anemia.

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this month showed that one out of five patients hospitalized for heart attack developed moderate to severe anemia during hospitalization. Average blood loss was highese during the first two days of hospitalization.

The authors estimated that for each 50 ml of blood drawn, there was a 15% increase in risk for anemia.

COMMENT: Anemia can complicate many diseases, especially heart attack. Often, much of the blood taken is not used and thrown away so it makes sense to either use pediatric tubes or simply not fill adult tubes to maximum, as the authors suggest.

Posted on Mon, September 19, 2011 by Larry Altshuler, M.D. filed under

1 comment (Add your own)

1. ana wrote:
In addition to the other iseuss already mentioned, the author will have to address a number of dilemmas arising from Mrs. Lacks's race and how racial iseuss were handled during her lifetime . Henrietta Lacks was treated in a separate colored wing for free- should her cells have been free game in exchange for her medical treatment? The Lacks family were descended from farmers and slaves, limiting their access to science education- was it the doctor's responsibility to explain the procedures, the nature of Hela, or even the concept of a cell? This next question gets a little further into the book and a bit on to another topic, but a certain cell marker found almost primarily in African Americans allowed the Hela cells to be linked back to the Lacks family how much genetic information can be allowed to become public? Furthermore, can that information be used as a screening tool for insurance, jobs, etc? This entire novel is definitely a excellent platform for discussing all of these iseuss and more, which will make for a very lively discussion once we get to campus.

Mon, May 21, 2012 @ 5:09 AM

Add a New Comment

Enter the code you see below:
code
 

Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.