Discussion week 6

Explain the difference between iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia, and anemia of chronic disease.
Briefly describe the treatment for one of these conditions

Anemia of all types is a symptom and not the cause of problems. It is caused frequently

by an underlying problem and there are several different ways to get to the root of the issue. To

understand the root of the problem one needs to understand what type of anemia they are dealing

with. Iron deficiency is most of all anemia cases. The pathogenesis of iron deficiency anemia

depends highly on the nutritional status and how that iron is absorbed in an individual’s body.

Risk factors involve pregnant and lactating women, socioeconomic disparities within

populations, being elderly, young women, and rural locations. (Kumar, et. Al., 2022) The most

common causes are menstruation in women, gastrointestinal bleeding, decreased iron intake, or

decreased iron absorption. Almost 30% of the world’s population is estimated to suffer from

IDA (Iron deficiency anemia). (Kumar, et. Al., 2022)

Thalassemia can present itself in patients aged 6-24 months and appears in irritability,

difficulty feeding, failure to thrive, diarrhea, recurrent fevers and distended abdomen from

hepatosplenomegaly. It can also happen in adults in milder form with fatigue and pallor. The

pathogenesis is when there is less hemoglobulin created. This is due to the HbgF and HbgA2

increase and a decrease in the beta chains. This causes hemolysis and thus anemia. (Needs, et.

Al., 2022)

Anemia associated with chronic disease is because an underlying condition is creating an

environment within the body of reduced hemoglobin, hematocrit, and erythrocyte counts.

(Wiciński, et. Al., 2020) Inflammation or anemia of chronic disease goes hand in hand. The

chronic disease creates a situation in which many things can accumulate at one time and creates a

multifactorial etiology for anemia to thrive. The proinflammatory process in chronic disease

helps to have the dysregulation of iron homeostasis and interrupts the normal order. There are
Discussion week 6

several diseases and disorders that can result in anemia. Some of these are chronic kidney

disease, irritable bowel syndrome, heart failure, or cancer. Each of these different types of

inflammatory diseases or syndromes have different treatment attached to them due to the process

of the disease. (Begum & Latunde-Dada, 2019)

Iron deficiency anemia treatment can be approached in a couple of different ways,

depending on the severity. If the severity is deemed to be life threatening, then a blood

transfusion is needed. If it is not life-threatening, but there is chronic disease involvement then

IV iron replacement should be considered. Source of any blood loss should be considered and

corrected if possible. If there is no chronic disease or issue with absorption from a digestion

standpoint the dosing should be considered through an oral route. (Auerbach, 2022) There should

be education regarding the intake of iron knowing that they might have an upset stomach and

constipation. They should also know to follow up in 2 weeks for another CBC recheck.

References:

Auerbach, M., (2022) Treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adults., UptoDate.

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/treatment-of-iron-deficiency-anemia-in-

adults?search=iron%20deficiency%20anemia%20treatment&source=search_result&selec

tedTitle=2~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=2#H219997

Begum, S., & Latunde-Dada, G. O. (2019). Anemia of inflammation with an emphasis on

chronic kidney disease. Nutrients, 11(10), 2424. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102424

Discussion week 6

Needs T, Gonzalez-Mosquera LF, Lynch DT. (2022) Beta Thalassemia. In: StatPearls.

StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL); . PMID: 30285376.

Kumar, S. B., Arnipalli, S. R., Mehta, P., Carrau, S., & Ziouzenkova, O. (2022). Iron Deficiency

Anemia: Efficacy and Limitations of Nutritional and Comprehensive Mitigation

Strategies. Nutrients, 14(14), 2976. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142976

Kumar, A., Sharma, E., Marley, A., Samaan, M. A., & Brookes, M. J. (2022). Iron deficiency

anaemia: pathophysiology, assessment, practical management. BMJ open

gastroenterology, 9(1), e000759. doi: 10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000759

Wiciński, M., Liczner, G., Cadelski, K., Kołnierzak, T., Nowaczewska, M., & Malinowski, B.

(2020). Anemia of Chronic Diseases: Wider Diagnostics—Better

Treatment?. Nutrients, 12(6), 1784. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061784

Discussion week 6