Question

A 20-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with a complaint of acute onset generalized severe pain after playing a soccer match. A complete blood count demonstrates a hematocrit of 20 percent with reticulocytosis. Which of the following are you likely to find on peripheral blood smear?

1) ABasophilic stippling
2) BBurr cells
3) CHeinz bodies
4) DHowell-Jolly bodies

Answer 1

Given the presence of reticulocytosis and a low hematocrit, the peripheral blood smear of the 20-year-old woman is most likely to reveal Heinz bodies, indicative of a hemolytic anemia likely related to G6PD deficiency.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 20-year-old woman's acute onset of generalized pain following a soccer match and her blood tests indicating a hematocrit of 20 percent with reticulocytosis suggest a hemolytic anemia. Her condition, alongside the finding of reticulocytosis, suggests an active destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) with a compensatory increase in immature red blood cells (reticulocytes). Considering the complete blood count and reticulocyte count, along with the fact that in active glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency Heinz bodies can be seen in RBCs on a blood film, the most likely finding on her peripheral blood smear is Heinz bodies (option C).