Before we begin let’s make sure we focus and highlight some things on #racialbias
A great article on this topic was shared. Racial bias in pain assessment & treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks & whites ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Let’s start with a problem representation:
A 28 y/o M w/ a h/o hemophilia A presents with lightheadedness, dyspnea, LE bruising 1 week prior and found to have an ⬆️ bill, hypo-proliferative anemia (7.3 g/dL), ⬆️ PTT, low B12 & folate without evidence of bleeding on imaging
My initial thought to focus around the ddx of acute/subacute hemoglobin drop given he had a normal CBC 6 months prior.
The highest concern would be for bleeding.
Any history things that are helpful other than delayed healing vs spontaneous brushing?
DOE and lightheadedness likely related to anemia here, given no other signal for cardiopulmonary disease
who has the coag cascade memorized?
Intrinsic vs extrinsic pathways
For Intrinsic think PTT (play table tennis) like you play that (inside) Factor 12, 11, 9, 8
vs Extrinsic for PT(play tennis) like you play that outside (extrinsic) Factor 7
I like the mixing study idea. I wonder if he has acquired a
Factor 8 antibody given his likely history of frequent transfusion
Part of well-made management scripts - initial resuscitation treatment interwoven with diagnostic evaluation
most hemophiliacs aren't symptomatic until like <5% of normal F8 levels
Bleeding from clotting factors def into deep tissues …
From thrombocytopenia/platelet defects is mucocutaneous
The usual bleeding ROS answers: hemoptysis, nose bleeds, gum bleeding, melena/hematochezia, etc...
lower extremity bruises are usually due to platelets low/platelet dysfunction… But coag fact def does it cause bruising?
Seemingly pointing away from cardiopulmonary cause but if time course was longer, could consider untreated anemia leading to high output CHF
Anyone else thinking Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) potentially causing his severe anemia and SOB
repeated
Why the jaundice? Increased hemolysis, Now we need CBC + hemolysis labs + smear
autoimmune vs mechanical hemolysis?
Something like cryoglobulinemia could support the MAHA + vasculitis like the picture.
You can also get an increase in bili from resorption from ecchymosis.
Not sure if that alone could cause the icterus?
if you have a proliferative anemia, think bleeding or hemolysis
Viruses with BM involvement- parovovirus B19, dengue, hepatitis, Epstein-Barr virus, CMV, HIV
Looks like he has a Hypoproliferative anemia with a <2 RPI, so unlikely hemolysis based off these labs
Also, haptoglobin isn’t low, LDH not elevated
Cbc 6 mo ago: hub 15.8, WBC 5.8, plt 275 hmmmm
Any corkscrew hair or perifollicular hemorrhage?
bleed - leukopenia - hypoproliferative anemia. any link?
Lymphoma infiltrating marrow can cause cytopenias and paraneoplastic fact 8 inhibitors
thinking of an EBV-driven B cell lymphoma —> acquired factor VIII inhibitor
immunological alterations induced by continuous antigenic stimulate derived from plasma concentrate could cause leukopenia
HLH explains bicytopenia but most of the time you have fevers, only 50% of HLH is due to cancer
Glanzmann is a rare autosomal recessive bleeding syndrome affecting the megakaryocyte lineage and characterized by lack of platelet aggregation....can look for GP IIB/IIIA activity, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
SLE can cause ab's against factor VIII, it also can cause
Antibody's against RBC's causing a hemolytic anemia
SLE also can cause leukopenia cuz of Ab's
acquired vWF deficiency can manifest at any time.. even aspirin use can trigger subclinical vWF issues
B12 and folate are super needed for bone marrow production of cells.
So maybe his low levels are the explanation?
fascinating that vitamin deficiency would present so acutely so likely suggests chronic, progressive process with tip over
There are causes of ‘Pseudo-petechiae’
vitamin c can also cause perifollocular and mucosal bleeding
It's rare to see b12 deficiency because the human body stores take months-years to deplete.
Folate and B12 are absorbed in the terminal ileum if I remember correctly, so maybe there's an issue there.
An MMA level would be great
If MMA & homocysteine are⬆️& the vitamin B12 level is mildly🔽then an early/mild B12 deficiency may be present.
This may indicate a 🔽in available B12 at the tissue level. If only homocysteine level is ⬆️& not MMA, then the person may have a folate def ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
B12 absorbed in ileum and folate in jejunum
a chronic hemolytic anemia can deplete b12 and folate stores, what was his diet?
Usually to get scurvy you have to have very, very low fruit and veggie intake.
it takes months for folate def and 4-5 years to develop b12 def
What is a pirates favorite letter? 10 of them...I, I, R, and the seven Cs
Some Still see scurvy in populations with food insecurity
food faddists or malabsorption. this is where we see scurvy nowadays ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Hematogenous dissemination then can occur typically 4 to 10 weeks later, giving rise to secondary syphilis. <40% of pts w/ syphilis have primary syphilis diagnosed. These “Secondary” lesions last for several weeks before spontaneously resolving. Coined “early, latent infection”
What does late infection mean? When syphilitic lesions recur after 1 year from the initial eruption, or seropositivity is detected more than 1 year after the initial eruption, it is termed late latent syphilis.
Some optics neuritis pearls in a short #Medtweetorial 🧵…. We all know that optic neuritis is frequently associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). But optic nerve inflammation can exist from autoimmunity, infection, granulomatous disease, paraneoplastic disorders, & demyelination
Classical ON from MS is unilateral, moderate, painful color vision loss with an afferent pupillary defect & normal fundus examination.
In those with ON, 95% of patients showed unilateral vision loss & 92% had associated retroorbital pain that frequently worsened w/ eye movement.
If you have not listened to the @CuriousClinPod most recent podcast (Episode 10: Why does metronidazole treat both bacterial and parasitic infections?) then I suggest you tune in.
I'll summarize their show notes here in short #medtweetorial
First a question:
Was metronidazole first used as an antibiotic or as an antiparasitic?
If you guessed antiparasitic, then you would be correct!
It was developed in the 1950s to treat the parasite trichomonas & then was used in the 1960s to treat other parasitic infections, like giardia and amoebiasis.
A 31-year-old M born and raised in Brazil w/ no PMH presented with a 3 mon history of worsening DOE, orthopnea, 7kg weight loss, abdominal distention, dry cough, and syncope
An interesting fact from @3owllearning : Depending on the clinical problems, the studies of disease probability for differential diagnosis often show 10 - 25% of cases are unexplained, even after careful examination and testing.