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Iron Deficiency Anemia Case Studies

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Case Study 1: Anemia
Ms. A has noticed increased shortness of breath, and low levels of energy and enthusiasm especially during her menses. During a golf tournament, she became light-headed. She presented in the emergency clinic today with an elevated heart and respiratory rate, and low blood pressure. She reports history of menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea for 10-12 years. She takes 1,000 mg of aspirin every 3-4 hours for 6 days during her period and during the summer while playing golf for joint stiffness. This paper will explore the patient’s diagnosis, classify the anemia, and give the rationale for the diagnosis.
Patient Diagnosis Ms. A. has iron deficiency anemia (IDA) a form of microcytic anemia, which is characterized by small erythrocytes with reduced amounts of hemoglobin. IDA is the most common type of anemia in the world. In the United States (US) females of childbearing age have a higher incidence than …show more content…

A. has suffered from menorrhagia (abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding) and dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) for 10-12 years. A blood loss of 2-4 mL/day is sufficient to cause IDA. During a normal menstrual cycle blood loss averages 25-60 mL and a loss of iron averages 0.5-1 mg daily (London, Ladewig, Ball, Bindler, & Cowen, 2011). In addition, Ms. A. has been taking aspirin with which an adverse side effect is gastrointestinal bleeding (Deglin, Vallerand, & Sanoski, 2011). Anemia is defined as a reduction in the number of red blood cells (RBCs), the quantity of hemoglobin, and the volume of packed red cells to below normal levels (London et al., 2011). A normal level of erythrocytes or RBC in a female is 4.2-5.4 x 10/mm, hemoglobin and hematocrit should be 12-16 g/dL and 37%-47% (Pagana & Pagana, 2010). Ms. A’s results are all below normal levels. Some of her RBCs are small and pale, which indicates that there is a reduced amount of hemoglobin available. Symptoms of IDA include fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath (Huether & McCance,

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