Final answer:
The basic evaluation of anemia involves three major groups: blood loss, decreased RBC production, and excessive RBC destruction. Clinicians use the kinetic and morphological approaches for diagnosis, evaluating factors like RBC size and reticulocyte counts. Anemia can cause symptoms like fatigue, impaired cognitive function, and shortness of breath.
Step-by-step explanation:
The basic evaluation of anemia can be broken down into three major groups: those caused by blood loss, faulty or decreased RBC production, and excessive destruction of RBCs. Clinicians often use two groupings in diagnosis: the kinetic approach evaluates the production, destruction, and removal of RBCs, while the morphological approach examines the RBCs themselves, focusing on their size.
A common test used in the evaluation of anemia is the mean corpuscle volume (MCV), which measures the size of the RBCs. Normal-sized cells are referred to as normocytic, smaller-than-normal cells are microcytic, and larger-than-normal cells are macrocytic.
Reticulocyte counts are also important in evaluating anemia as they may reveal inadequate production of RBCs. The effects of anemia are widespread, leading to reduced oxygen delivery to body tissues. This can result in symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, increased infection risk, impaired cognitive function, headaches, irritability, and shortness of breath.