Iron Deficiency Anemia
Slide 2
A 26 years old female reported to the healthcare provider complaining of generalized weakness and lethargy. Other chief complaints include excessive bleeding during menstruation from last six months, breathlessness and palpitations while ascending stair case, and cramping in the legs.
Slide 3
The patient reports generalized weakness and lethargy, and inability to perform routine work since past few months. She revealed that she had excessive bleeding during menstruation from last six months. She experienced breathlessness and palpitations while climbing stairs, periods of light-headedness, but not reaching to a stage of fainting. The patient had noticed cramping in the legs, and desired to crunch on ice. Her appetite was decreased, and she had been consuming food only once a day. She denied having abdominal discomfort.
Slide 4
The patient’s past medical and family history are insignificant. The obstetric history of the patient is nil each for gravida, para, and abortus. The patient is a non-smoker, and denies consuming alcohol or using any of the street drugs. The patient is not taking any prescription or over-the-counter drugs, and has no known drug allergies.
Slide 5
The vital signs of the patient are indicative of normal blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate and BMI in accordance to her weight and height. She is experiencing tachycardia with pulse at 112 per minute. The physical assessment performed by the healthcare provider revealed pale gums and nail beds, and swollen tongue. The size and consistency of the lymph nodes is insignificant. Chest is clear and normal breathing sounds are heard upon performing auscultation. The heart rate shows significant elevation, and subsequently rise in the pulse rate. The abdomen is soft and tender. The patient is alert, and oriented to time, place and person.
Slide 6
The slide shows the laboratory findings attained after blood examination of the patient. The red blood cell count and hemoglobin are considerably decreased. Hematocrit is at 30%, and the mean corpuscular volume and the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration are low. The total iron binding capacity in the blood shows a deviation towards the higher level.
Slide 7
Bope & Kellerman (2016) state that the differential diagnosis of iron deficiency constitute causes of fatigue and exercise intolerance. These electrolyte disturbances due to diuretic therapy, left ventricular dysfunction, chronic lung disease, cancer, or liver disease. Domino, Baldor, Golding & Grimes (2014) point out gastrointestinal bleeding due to gastritis, malignancy or varices as one of the differential diagnosis. Other possible diagnosis under this category is hypoproliferation due to decreased erythropoietin from hypothyroidism or renal failure.
Slide 8
In the given scenario, the diagnosis is iron deficiency anemia. The patient education would emphasize on avoiding consumption of milk or other dairy products, quinolones, or tetracycline within few hours of taking iron supplementation. The client must limit intake of caffeinated beverages, and should not consume milk more than 16 ounces in a day. The client should be motivated to increase intake of food which are naturally high in iron content. Domino, Baldor, Goding, & Grimes (2014) suggest that daily intake of fluid and dietary …
