Overview Lymphomas are tumours arising from lymphoid cells. They have a much less dramatic presentation than leukaemias, and are classified into 2 major groups – Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – based on morphology and immunophenotype. Definition of terms Term…
Myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of disorders that are characterised by dysplastic and ineffective haematopoiesis. This leads to abnormal growth of pluripotent stem cells in the bone marrow, causing deficiencies affecting several cell lines. It is sometimes referred to as…
Myeloproliferative neoplasms are abnormal proliferations of one or more terminal myeloid cell lines in the peripheral blood. They are characterised by extramedullary hematopoiesis, myelofibrosis, and transformation to acute leukaemia. Myeloproliferative neoplasms Chronic myeloid leukaemia Polycythaemia vera Essential thrombocythaemia Primary myelofibrosis…
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is characterised by a progressive accumulation of monoclonal, mature, non-functional B lymphocytes. It is usually discovered on routine blood tests as an isolated lymphocytosis. It is defined by a > 5000/uL B-lymphocytes in the peripheral blood that…
Acute Leukaemia is an abnormal proliferation of blasts in either the myeloid or lymphoid cell lines. The rapidly proliferating blasts dramatically affect the bone marrow, leading to pancytopaenia. Compared to chronic leukaemia, acute leukaemia is more common in younger patients.…
Sickle cell disease is a hereditary, autosomal recessive condition caused by a point mutation in the beta-globin gene found on chromosome 11. This results in the absence of HbA and the production of HbS. 1:700 Africans have sickle cell disease.…
Haemolytic anaemia is caused by the destruction of red blood cells at an accelerated pace beyond the capacity of the bone marrow to compensate. Usually, a normocytic picture is present. Haemolytic anaemia Association Coombs Other tests Treatment Warm AIHA Autoimmune…
Microcytic anaemia is characterised by low haemoglobin and low mean corpuscular volume. Causes of microcytic anaemia Disorder MCV Iron TIBC Ferritin RDW Hepcidin Iron deficiency anaemia Very Low Low High Low Wide Normal Anemia of chronic disease Normal/Low Low Low…
Anaemia is defined as a decrease in red cell mass as evidenced by a haemoglobin concentration below the reference range for a given age or sex in a given population or geographic location. A haemoglobin concentration of <13g/dL in adult…
Pelvic inflammatory disease is a subacute or chronic infection of the upper female reproductive tract and/or peritoneum. The most common causative organisms are Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, but most cases are polymicrobial, involving anaerobes. Clinical criteria for diagnosis Additional criteria may include oral temperature >…