Usefulness of physical examination in detecting the presence or absence of anemia
Article Abstract:
Anemia, an abnormal reduction in red blood cells, can be suspected when a patient's skin coloring is pale. The body has a tendency to pull blood away from the skin to improve circulation to vital body organs, and this can accentuate skin pallor in anemic patients. Variations in skin thickness, skin pigmentation and swelling can cause potential errors in assessing skin pallor. Assessments of 98 male and 5 female patients for anemia were made. Laboratory diagnosis of anemia was performed on the basis of blood hematocrit, the percentage of red blood cells in whole blood. In addition to skin pallor, the color inside the eyelids (conjunctivae), nail beds, face, palms, and creases in the palms were used to detect anemia. To eliminate examiner bias in this study, the patient's disease status was unknown. Physical examination revealed that pallor of the conjunctivae, face, or palms, alone or in combination, offered the most positive results. The least reliable pallor sites for assessment were the nail beds and palmar creases. Patients without evidence of pallor, however, may nevertheless be anemic. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Archives of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-9926
Year: 1990
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Successful treatment of resistant Paget's disease of bone with pamidronate
Article Abstract:
Paget's disease of the bone (osteitis deformans) is marked by thickening and softening of bone which can lead to bone deformities. Although there have been many agents used in the treatment of Paget's disease of the bone, some patients may be resistant to such therapy or have toxic reactions after long-term use. In this case study, two men, aged 52 and 44, with severe Paget's disease as indicated by the measurement of alkaline phosphatase in the blood, were treated with pamidronate. Both patients, who had not responded to other treatments, experienced relief of symptoms and reached normal alkaline phosphatase values without many adverse effects. Transient fever and low white blood cell count, reported side effects from other studies, were not experienced by these two patients. After two years of treatment, the effects of pamidronate therapy were seen even six months after treatment was discontinued. Pamidronate is not yet available in the United States but its use in treating Paget's disease is highly recommended where it is available.
Publication Name: Archives of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-9926
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Treatment of nonseptic olecranon bursitis. The use of porcine factor VIII concentrate (Hyate: C) in the treatment of patients with inhibitor antibodies to factor VIII: a multicenter US experiment
- Abstracts: Treatment of flexor tenosynovitis of the hand (''trigger finger'') with corticosteroids: a prospective study of the response to local injection
- Abstracts: Acute rheumatic fever in West Virginia: not just a disease of children. Immunotesting for diagnosis in rheumatic diseases
- Abstracts: Concurrent human and canine histoplasmosis from cutting decayed wood. Sarcoidlike manifestations of histoplasmosis
- Abstracts: Liver function tests in nonparenteral cocaine users. Caffeine as an analgesic adjuvant: a double-blind study comparing aspirin with caffeine to aspirin and placebo in patients with sore throat