hematology

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. –Joseph Campbell Welcome back to RoshCast for Episode 50! Wow!! We can’t believe we’re already at Episode 50. It’s been a real journey building this podcast from the original concept two years ago. And in the last year, we have seen read more…

Megaloblastic Anemia Patient will be a vegan or alcoholic Complaining of fatigue, weakness PE will show pallor, glossitis Labs will show MCV > 100 and hypersegmented neutrophils Most commonly caused by vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) or folate deficiency Comments: only vitamin B12 deficiency results in neurological symptoms Sample question: A middle-aged patient in the ED has a hemoglobin of 8.1 g/dL with an MCV of 112 fL. Which of read more…

Polycythemia Vera Patient will be complaining of headache, dizziness, pruritus after showering PE will show hypertension, splenomegaly Labs will show increased RBC mass, overproduction of all cell lines, increased Hgb Most commonly caused by mutation of the Janus kinase 2 gene (JAK2) Treatment is phlebotomy, hydroxyurea, aspirin Sample question: A 60-year-old man presents to your office complaining of generalized pruritus following warm showers. He also read more…

von Willebrand Disease Patient with a history of a parent with similar symptoms Mucosal hemorrhage or bleeding that is difficult to control Labs will show decreased factor VIII, prolonged bleeding time Treatment is desmopressin (DDAVP) Comments: Most common inherited bleeding disorder, autosomal dominant Sample question: A 9-year-old child is being evaluated for frequent epistaxis and easy bruising tendencies. Bleeding time is prolonged, PT, PTT, read more…

Multiple Myeloma Patient will be elderly Complaining of back pain PE will show CRAB: hyperCalcemia, Renal insufficiency, Anemia, lytic Bone lesions/Back pain Labs will show monoclonal antibody spike X-ray will show lytic lesions Peripheral blood smear: Rouleaux formations Serum protein electrophoresis: M spike Protein electrophoresis urine analysis: Bence-Jones proteins Most commonly caused by single clone plasma cell read more…

Welcome back to Episode 17! This is part 2 of the 3 part ITE rapid review series. In Episode 16, we covered abdominal emergencies, cardiovascular emergencies, cutaneous emergencies, endocrine emergencies, and environmental emergencies. Today we jump right in with HEENT emergencies. Let’s get started!