Aplastic Anemia - Overview
Who?
• M = F
• 3 peaks: 1) Childhood 2) 15-25 years 3) >60 years
What?
• Aplastic anemia = Hypocellular bone marrow + pancytopenia
Mechanisms:
• Direct Damage to Marrow (Toxic injury to BM)
• Constitutional Syndromes (specific loss-of-function germline mutations)
• Immune Aplastic Anemia
Clinical Presentation:
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Lightheadedness
• Dizziness
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Pale skin color
• Difficulty breathing
• Neutropenia - recurrent infections/fevers
• Thrombocytopenia - ecchymoses, mucosal bleeding, and petechiae
Causes:
• Constitutional Syndromes:
- Genetic lesions that diminish the capacity for hematopoietic stem cells to repair DNA, as in Fanconi anemia, GATA2 deficiency, CTLA4 deficiency, Dyskeratosis congenita
• Drugs:
- Cytotoxic drugs/Chemotherapy
- Antithyroid medications (methimazole and propylthiouracil)
- β-lactam antibiotics
- Sulfonamides
- NSAIDs
- Anticonvulsants
- Gold salts
• Chemical Agents:
- Benzene
• Physical Agents:
- Radiation
• Idiopathic
• Infections:
- Parvovirus B19
- EBV
- CMV
- HCV
- HIV
• Immune Aplastic Anemia:
- Hepatitis, eosinophilic fasciitis, and thymoma
DDX:
• Inherited marrow-failure syndromes
• Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
• Hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (normal or increased number of CD34+ cells)
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Parvovirus B19
• Mycobacteria
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
• Leukemia
Hypocellular/Hypoplastic MDS:
• ↓ bone marrow cellularity + dysplastic cells + cytogenetic abnormalities typical for MDS
• Suggested by bone marrow with dysplastic megakaryocytes and a normal or increased number of CD34+ cells (not consistent with aplastic anemia)
Labs:
• Peripheral Pancytopenia:
• ↓ RBC
• ↓ WBC
• ↓ PLT
• Reticulocyte index < 2
• EPO Level ↑
• Marrow hypoplasia/fatty bone marrow
• Number of CD34+ cells is much reduced in aplastic anemia
Treatment:
• Improve the symptoms that may result from low blood counts
• Allogeneic HSCT for younger than 50 years who have a suitable match
• Immunosuppression - cyclosporine and antithymocyte globulin
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