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A Brief Note On Sickle Cell Anemia ( Sca ) Essay

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6521, N-17 As an advanced practice nurse (APN), one will care for many patients with hematological disorders. Over the years the prognosis for these individuals has drastically improved. The purpose of this paper is to describe sickle cell anemia (SCA), evaluate the treatments, and discuss how age affects all of these things. SCA is a genetic disorder wherein a person is unable to produce normal hemoglobin A. Instead their bodies produce hemoglobin S, which differs from normal hemoglobin due to the single substitution of an amino acid in one of the two polypeptide chains (Arcangelo & Peterson, 2013). Hemoglobin S causes no problem as long as it is oxygenated. However, deoxygenation and dehydration cause the erythrocyte to have an elongated sickle shape. The altered erythrocytes tend to increase blood viscosity, occluding the blood vessels and decreasing blood flow. This reduction in circulation leads to pain and organ infarction. However, the sickling is typically not permanent, and the erythrocytes will regain normal shape once they are oxygenated and hydrated. Although when sickling occurs four types of crises are possible. First is a vaso-occlusive crisis, in which vasospasms cause a complete blockage of blood flow through the vessels. This blockage causes relentless pain; and if reversal of this process does not occur, thrombosis and infarction of local tissue ensue. Sequestration is the second type, and in this crisis copious

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