Sickle cell anemia is a hereditary disorder that mostly affects people of African ancestry, but also occurs in other ethnic groups, including people who are of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern descent. More than 70,000 Americans have sickle cell anemia. And about 2 million Americans - and one in 12 African Americans - have sickle cell trait (this means they carry one gene for the disease, but do not have the disease itself).
Sickle cell anemia occurs when a person inherits two abnormal genes (one from each parent) that cause their red blood cells to change shape. Instead of being flexible and round, these cells are more rigid and curved in the shape of the farm tool known as a sickle - that's where the disease gets its name. The shape is similar to a crescent moon.
What Is Sickle Cell Anemia?
Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects hemoglobin (pronounced: hee-muh-glow-bin), a protein found in red blood cells that helps carry oxygen throughout the body.
Red blood cells with normal hemoglobin (HbA) move easily through the bloodstream, delivering oxygen to all of the cells of the body. Normal red blood cells are shaped like doughnuts with the centers partially scooped out and are soft and flexible.
Sickle cell anemia occurs when an abnormal form of hemoglobin (HbS) is produced. HbS molecules tend to clump together, making red blood cells sticky, stiff, and more fragile, and causing them to form into a curved, sickle shape. Red blood cells containing HbS can go back and forth between being shaped normally and being sickle shaped until they eventually become sickle shaped permanently. Instead of moving through the bloodstream easily, these sickle cells can clog blood vessels and deprive the body's tissues and organs of the oxygen they need to stay healthy.
Unlike normal red blood cells that last about 4 months in the bloodstream, fragile sickle cells break down after only about 10 to 20 days, which usually causes anemia. Anemia (pronounced: uh-nee-mee-uh) is what happens when the body's number of red blood cells (or amount of hemoglobin) falls below normal. People who are anemic often feel weak and tire more easily.
People with sickle cell anemia can also experience complications from blood circulation and infection-fighting problems. These include a higher risk of certain infections and stroke as well as a condition called acute c...
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...ines, rest, and extra fluids. But if a crisis is especially intense, the person may need to go to the hospital for intravenous (IV) fluids and stronger pain medications. People with sickle cell anemia may also use oxygen to help ease symptoms during a crisis or an episode of acute chest syndrome.
Teens with sickle cell anemia may need to get transfusions of healthy red blood cells to help carry oxygen to the tissues of their bodies more effectively.
Scientists are constantly researching ways to help people with sickle cell anemia. Several recent drugs on the market, such as hydroxyurea, have helped reduce painful crises and episodes of acute chest syndrome in adults with the condition. These drugs have also decreased the need for hospitalization. Scientists are also testing these and other drugs to see if they work for kids and teens. In rare cases, people with severe sickle cell anemia may be given a bone marrow transplant to help them produce healthy hemoglobin.
Scientists are also studying gene therapy as a good treatment for sickle cell anemia. One day, doctors may be able to stop the disease by changing or replacing the abnormal gene that causes sickle cell anemia.
At this point, the sepsis bundle order set will be initiated. Within one hour the physician will perform an assessment, laboratory will draw labs and blood cultures, the assigned nurse will initiate fluid resuscitation, and broad spectrum antibiotics will be administered after the cultures are collected. Figure 1 provides a detailed summary of tasks to be completed within the first hour of SIRS indicator identification. Within three hours, fluid resuscitation will be completed, lactate levels are remeasured, and the assigned nurse documents volume status. Within six hours, vasopressors are initiated if hypotension is not responding to initial fluid resuscitation, and hydrocortisone is administered if indicated. A “Gold Alert” was required for the case patient as evidenced by elevated temperature of 38.3oC and white blood cell count of 23,200
normal saline, lactated Ringer solution, etc), volume expanders (e.g. albumin and others), antibiotics (e.g. cefotaxime, metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, cefepime, etc), and corticosteroids (e.g. hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, etc).Medications and surgery are often the most effective and most definitive treatments that a doctor or certified medical professional can give to a septic shock patient. However most of those treatments are administered in a hospital setting. Prehospital treatment and management for septic shock would include proper management of ABC’s (Airway, Breathing, Circulation), identifying the source of infection and treat accordingly if possible, and monitoring of the patient's vital signs. Not much definitively can be done in a prehospital setting but prehospital management is vital for patient survivability.Some complications that can occur as a result of septic shock include acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), respiratory failure, heart failure, renal failure or injury, and abnormal blood clotting. Sepsis is listed by The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as the most expensive condition treated in the U.S. with an overall cost of more than $20 billion in 2011. Sepsis and sepsis
Red blood cells deliver the oxygen to the muscles and organs of the body.
A normal red blood cell can live up to one hundred and twenty days. A red blood cell with the membrane defect might live ten to thirty days. When the child develops low levels of red blood cells, it is because the cells break down faster than they are being replenished. The body contains hemoglobin, which is a form of protein that carries oxygen around the body, giving it to the cells that need it (Seattle Childrens).... ...
What is Sickle cell disease? Sickle cell affects a disease; that disease is called which affects the hemoglobin when the red blood cells that send oxygen through the body are killed off and weakened. Sickle cells can be found in every 1 and 1000 African Americans, it is affecting about 70,000 to 80,000 Americans in the United States. Sickle cell is a death threatening disease, and the severity of symptoms can vary from person to person (Sickle cell disease (SCD), 2015). Some people have light conditions, but others can have severe conditions, which, mean they could be hospitalized. Characteristics of this disease are caused by a minimum of low blood cells, which is called anemia.
“In the United States, it's estimated that sickle cell anemia affects 70,000–100,000 people, mainly African Americans” (NHLBI, NIH, Who is at risk for sickle cell anemia). SCD is a disease that is a serious disorder in which the body can make normal blood cells and sickle shape cells. Sickle shape cells can block the blood flow in your vessels and cause pain or organ damage also put you in risk for infections. SCD has no cure available but there are many treatments out there to deal with the complications of it. From over years treatments did get better from way back in the day doctors have learned. Sickle cell disease has lack of attention and funding because it’s only affecting African American the most.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease of red blood cells. Normally red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin A, which carries oxygen to all the organs in the body. With sickle cell anemia, however, the body makes a different kind of protein, called hemoglobin S.
There are lots of genes in each of our body’s. when one is mutated it may causes a chain reaction and in the case with sickle cell that mutated gene may become rigid and sticky and won’t allow your body to make hemoglobin the iron rich compound that gives us the red color in our blood it hemoglobin is abnormal. The red blood cell s that carries oxygen from our lungs and other parts of our body cannot happen. The gene will sickle therefore preventing the blood and oxygen to pass through freely.
Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that is inherited from both parents in which the body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells. In sickle cell anemia, the hemoglobin in red blood cells links together; resulting in the red blood cells to become rigid and a C-shaped. These deformed cells block blood and oxygen flow in blood vessels. Sickle cells deteriorate quicker than normal red blood cells, which results in anemia.
Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited blood disorder that is extremely challenging to live with. Its symptoms are many, with the most prominent being severe pain that can become unbearable to the point where hospitalization is required. Because sickle cell is a genetic disorder, a person is born with it and it is usually permanent. Unfortunately, there are risks and complications associated with this disease. However there are various treatment options for a patient with sickle cell and also support to help people understand and cope with this challenging disease.
In this experiment, we determined the isotonic and hemolytic molar concentrations of non-penetrating moles for sheep red blood cells and measured the absorbance levels from each concentration. The results concluded that as the concentration increased the absorbance reading increased as well. A higher absorbance signifies higher amounts of intact RBCs. The isotonic molar concentration for NaCl and glucose is 0.3 M. The hemolysis molar concentration for NaCl and glucose is 0.05 M. Adding red blood cells to an isotonic solution, there will be no isotonic pressure and no net movement. The isotonic solution leaves the red blood cells intact. RBC contain hemoglobin which absorbs light, hemoglobin falls to the bottom of the tube and no light is absorbed. Determining the isotonic concentration of NaCl and glucose by finding the lowest molar concentration. In contrast to isotonic molar concentration, hemolysis can be determined by finding the
I was on my Monday evening shift and I was assigned for eight patients where seven of them were older and this teen named Mr.Govanni was with sickle cell anemia. When I took the handover from the dayshift nurse, I particularly noticed this patient from my assignment list because of his age and condition and at the same time the nurse who handed over the duty specifically told me that the teen boy was non-cooperative and also I saw it from the chart that the patient was getting the normal saline at 75cc/hr, CBC result morning( 6 am) showed HB-82g/dl, WBC 10.6. According to doctor’s order repeat CBC at 1600hr and if the HB is less than 80 transfuse two units of PRBC and lasix 40 mg in between the transfusion.
...at is required, give him/her something to eat or drink and get medical help. Always remain calm, help the person to remain calm (as much as possible), and stay with the person until medical help arrives.
VI. Some individuals requiring blood are surgical patients; burn victims; accident victims; anemics'; hemophiliacs; seriously ill babies; and persons suffering from leukemia, cancer, kidney disease and liver disease.
Red Blood Cells contain hemoglobin molecules to help bind to oxygen to bring to other tissues. Without this function, cells would not be able to go through the process of cellular respiration and can only survive a short time. Red Blood Cells are also able to carry bicarbonate as a waste product and carry a variety of hormones to communicate between organs.