Hemolytic

Hemolysis
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Hemolysis refers to a situation in which the erythrocytes are destructed in their premature state. The state is referred as hemolytic anaemia in the case where the bone marrow is unable to make up for the erythrocytes loss. Anemia may be on the verge of its severity depending on whether hemolysis takes place gradually or it is an abrupt process. It also depends on the level of the erythrocyte destructions. In most cases, mild hemolysis can be asymptomatic which makes it easier to deal with and proactively assists the patient. However, severe hemolysis is a life-threatening condition that can lead to cardiopulmonary decompensation and angina.
Hemolysis can be categorized into two: acquired disorder or hereditary. In any case, the erythrocytes can be destroyed in their early stages before they mature as a result of conditions such us immune destruction of the erythrocytes, abnormal haemoglobin, hypersplenism, erythrocyte enzymatic defects or intrinsic membrane defect among others.
Hemolysis can also be termed as an intravascular or extravascular phenomenon. In extravascular, the erythrocytes are damaged mostly in spleen and reticuloendothelial tissues. A good example of extravascular hemolysis is hereditary spherocytosis and hemolytic anaemia. Intravascular hemolysis is seen in hemolytic anaemia (Kato, 2017).
Erythrocytes have a lifecycle of 120 days. However, hemolysis affects destroy them before their lifecycle is attained.

After their destructions, they are cleared out of the body and new ones generated in the bone marrow. An imbalance may occur when the rate of their destruction supersedes the rate at which they are destroyed. Thus hemolysis leads to an imbalance in the number of red blood cells in the blood. This can mainly be caused by the presence of toxins in the body. Other conditions such as leukaemia, pain medication, streptococcus bacteria, sickle cell anaemia, lupus, typhoid fever, hepatitis, and Epstein-Barr virus can act as major causes of the disease. A person with hemolysis is likely to experience weaknesses, have pale skin, feel dizziness, have a fever, feel tired and show various signs of confusion. Many of these signs can be confused with other illnesses thus it is better for the patient showcasing these symptoms to visit a doctor for diagnosis and testing. Hemolysis can result in thrombosis, organ damage, anaemia, pulmonary hypertension, chronic kidney disease and decreased the quality of life if left untreated (Arashiki et al. 2016).
Hemolysis diagnosis is usually made through analysis of blood sample from the patient. The doctors then count each element of the blood, and it is from there that an imbalance can be detected. A ratio of reticulocytes (new blood cells) and old ones is determined, and this further explicates the disorder. Also, a marrow biopsy can be carried out to analyze for any irregularity present. Treating hemolysis mostly takes into account the prevalent cause. However, immune globulin transfusion, blood transfusion, and corticosteroids injections are very helpful (Delaney et al. 2016). In the case that the spleen is the main cause of hemolysis, surgical removal of the spleen can be carried out. However, this is only preferred when non-other treatment can be done.
Currently, hemolysis is combated at clinical and medical levels. However, through advertisements, various medical professions appear in health show to educate the public about the hemolysis. It is also significant to say that various patients with hemolysis and majorly hemolytic anaemia and other associated diseases usually create a social platform where they can make discussions and encourage each other in the journey of life. Most of these associations are not registered and thus fail to be documented in scholarly journals.
How does the information, in this case, inform the practice of a master’s prepared nurse?
Information about the patient’s signs and the symptom is very crucial to the master’s prepared nurse as it will give the nurse the guideline of how to take care of the patient. As discussed earlier, there are different kinds of hemolysis, and as a result, each will take a different form of care to be addressed. Information concerning with subjective data: dizziness, short of breath, lightheadedness and fatigue and objective data: low lab values(HRB/RBC), potential ECG changes, pale skin, Hemorrhaging, tachycardia, and syncope among other will prove to be crucial in addressing the patient treatment.
How should the master’s prepared nurse use this information to design a patient education session for someone with this condition?
The information can be used by the master’s prepared nurse to inform the patient of the condition of another possible expectation. The nurse may continue to provide the method that will be used to treat the condition and ways in which the patient can avoid inducing further severity to the illness by, for instance, taking recommended diet and visiting the clinic for prognosis and treatment on a regular basis.
What was the most important information presented in this case?
Hemolytic anaemia can be distinguished from other types of the disease through diagnosis and testing. Thus as far as it is important for the subjective data the patient provide, objective information that is acquired is also more important. This will help the nurse narrow down to the few and helpful procedure on how to treat the patient.
What was the most confusing or challenging information presented in this case?
Most of the times, it becomes very confusing to determine the illness from just ambiguous signs and symptoms. It is very easy to confuse the signs and symptoms of the hemolysis with other illness. Thus it is good for a patient to visit a medical institution and engage in further diagnosis to determine the specific conditions he/she is suffering from.
Discuss a patient safety issue that can be addressed for a patient with the condition presented in this case.
Appropriate measures should be taken by people with hemolysis to prevent the condition from further severity. They should check their diet and avoid working in an area that they may injure themselves and thus bleed. Presence of toxins in the diet and severe bleeding will further complicate their conditions.
References
Arashiki, N., Takakuwa, Y., Mohandas, N., Hale, J., Yoshida, K., Ogura, H., … & Kojima, S. (2016). ATP11C is a major flippase in human erythrocytes, and its defect causes congenital hemolytic anemia. haematologica, haematol-2016.
Delaney, M., Wendel, S., Bercovitz, R. S., Cid, J., Cohn, C., Dunbar, N. M., … & Van De Watering, L. (2016). Transfusion reactions: prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The Lancet, 388(10061), 2825-2836.
Kato, G. J., Steinberg, M. H., & Gladwin, M. T. (2017). Intravascular hemolysis and the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease. The Journal of clinical investigation, 127(3), 750-760.