Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
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Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Hematological system
Anemias
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
Hemolytic disease of the newborn
Hereditary spherocytosis
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
Pyruvate kinase deficiency
Sickle cell disease (NORD)
Fanconi anemia
Folate (Vitamin B9) deficiency
Megaloblastic anemia
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Alpha-thalassemia
Anemia of chronic disease
Beta-thalassemia
Iron deficiency anemia
Lead poisoning
Sideroblastic anemia
Anemia of chronic disease
Aplastic anemia
Diamond-Blackfan anemia
Fanconi anemia
Dysplastic and proliferative disorders
Langerhans cell histiocytosis
Mastocytosis (NORD)
Essential thrombocythemia (NORD)
Myelodysplastic syndromes
Myelofibrosis (NORD)
Polycythemia vera (NORD)
Leukemoid reaction
Leukemoid reaction
Mixed platelet and coagulation disorders
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia
Von Willebrand disease
Thrombosis syndromes (hypercoagulability)
Antiphospholipid syndrome
Antithrombin III deficiency
Factor V Leiden
Protein C deficiency
Protein S deficiency
Hematological system pathology review
Coagulation disorders: Pathology review
Extrinsic hemolytic normocytic anemia: Pathology review
Heme synthesis disorders: Pathology review
Intrinsic hemolytic normocytic anemia: Pathology review
Leukemias: Pathology review
Lymphomas: Pathology review
Macrocytic anemia: Pathology review
Microcytic anemia: Pathology review
Mixed platelet and coagulation disorders: Pathology review
Myeloproliferative disorders: Pathology review
Non-hemolytic normocytic anemia: Pathology review
Plasma cell disorders: Pathology review
Platelet disorders: Pathology review
Thrombosis syndromes (hypercoagulability): Pathology review
Assessments
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
USMLE® Step 1 questions
0 / 5 complete
High Yield Notes
13 pages
Questions
USMLE® Step 1 style questions USMLE
of complete
| Laboratory value | Result |
| Hematologic | |
| Hemoglobin | 9.2 g/dL |
| Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) | 88 fL |
| Platelet count | 280,000/mm3 |
| Reticulocyte count | 4.2% |
| Blood, plasma, serum | |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) | 1380 U/L |
External References
First Aid
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Autoimmune hemolytic anemia p. 110, 417
cephalosporins p. 186
Cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia p. 417
Lupus
autoimmune hemolytic anemia and p. 417
Transcript
Content Reviewers
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia refers to increased red blood cell hemolysis, or breakdown, that results when a person’s own antibodies target red blood cells for destruction.
And this results in a lower than normal amount of red blood cells anemia.
The disease is most often idiopathic, or without a known cause, but it can be related to a medication side effect, or an underlying disease process.
Normally, red blood cells, or RBCs, are made in the bone marrow and contain hemoglobin, which is an oxygen binding protein that delivers oxygen to tissues.
Red blood cells live about 100-120 days after which they are recycled in the bone marrow or consumed by macrophages in the spleen, liver, or lymphatic system.
Now, autoimmune hemolytic anemia is an extrinsic type of hemolytic anemia, because the immune system mistakenly believes our own red blood cells are foreign, or non-self, structures, so it secretes antibodies against proteins found on the RBC membrane.
If there had been a primary defect in the RBC membrane, then it would have been called an intrinsic hemolytic anemia.
And usually, hemolysis happens in the spleen or liver, so this is considered an extravascular hemolytic anemia - although in severe cases, RBC hemolysis can also happen intravascularly, or inside blood vessels.
Now, autoimmune hemolytic anemia gets classified as either warm or cold.
Warm is the more common type, and it’s when hemolysis occurs at temperatures greater than or equal to core human body temperature of 37º celsius.
Cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia is much rarer, and it occurs when people’s blood is exposed to cold temperatures, usually in the range of 0º to 10º celsius - like when a person goes out into cold weather during winter.
Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia is almost always due to IgG antibodies, termed “warm agglutinins” that react with antigens, which are proteins on the surface of the red blood cell.
Summary
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a blood disorder that occurs when a person's own antibodies attack and destroy healthy red blood cells. The cause is not completely understood, but it may be associated with other conditions such as an infection, or leukemia. AIHA causes several symptoms, including fatigue, jaundice, shortness of breath, and an enlarged spleen.
Sources
- "Robbins Basic Pathology" Elsevier (2017)
- "Pathophysiology of Disease: An Introduction to Clinical Medicine 8E" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2018)
- "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine" McGraw-Hill (2004)
- "Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia" Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America (2015)
- "Cold Agglutinin-Mediated Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia" Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America (2015)
- "Autoimmune hemolytic anemia" American Journal of Hematology (2002)
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