Question

A 2-week-old girl is brought to her primary care provider for a routine visit. The patient was bom by normal spontaneous vaginal delivery at 39 weeks gestation. mother is breastfeeding exclusively, and the infant has regained her birth weight Newborn screening results from hemoglobin electrophoresis are as follows:

Hemoglobin F 70%
Hemoglobin A 20%
Hemoglobin S 10%
The patients mother has sickle celll trait, and a maternal cousin has sickle cell anemia. Examination shows a well-appearing infant with no pallor of splenomegaly. Which of the following is most likely true about this patient?
A. Life expectancy will be shorter than average
B. Mean corpuscular volume will be decreased
C. Reticulocyte count wil be elevated
D. She has relative protection from Plasmodium falciparum
E. She will likely develop pain crises

Answer 1

The correct statement about the 2-week-old girl with a mixed hemoglobin pattern suggestive of sickle cell trait is that she has relative protection from Plasmodium falciparum.

Step-by-step explanation:

A 2-week-old girl with a hemoglobin electrophoresis showing 70% Hemoglobin F, 20% Hemoglobin A, and 10% Hemoglobin S has a mother with sickle cell trait and a maternal cousin with sickle cell anemia. Given the findings, the infant likely has sickle cell trait and not sickle cell disease. Therefore, one correct statement about this patient is that she has relative protection from Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous species of malaria-causing parasites. Individuals with sickle cell trait have been shown to have a protective advantage against malaria due to the presence of Hemoglobin S.