A human’s body depends on oxygen to function and red blood cells enable this by carrying the oxygen molecules to the different organs and tissues. Anemia is a condition caused by a lack of healthy red blood cells. This condition can be very dangerous, however, there are different solutions to this problem that medical professionals can use. This paper will discuss anemia and the different ways of managing this condition.
Evidently, when working with a case of anemia, the comorbid conditions should be considered as well. For example, a solution for preoperative anemia is the use of Blood Management Standards (BMS) by the anesthesiologist (Steinbicker, 2019). BMS implies assessing potential risks and conserving a patient’s blood before a survey. According to Mosieri et al. (2020), anemia typically occurs pre-operation or during the post-operative period, and replacement of red blood cells through IV supplementation is the best way to address the former. Fetal anemia, although it is a rare condition, can pose a danger to a patient and should be treated with intravascular intrauterine transfusion (Maisonneuve et al., 2020). For people with kidney disease, there are two strategies — short and long-term erythrocyte stimulation (Alkatheri et al., 2016). For patients who have cancer, anemia is usually the result of chemotherapy. Such issues should be addressed by using “erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA), epoetin alfa (Eralfon®, biosimilar of Russian origin) and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp®)” (Krysanova, Krysanov, & Ermakova, 2018, p. 44). Most methods of managing anemia aim to enhance the ability of blood cells to carry oxygen.
Overall, this paper discussed the ways of approaching the management of anemia. The approach to addressing these issues differs depending on the patient’s sate and comorbidities. For most individuals, using BMS before an operation should suffice, while for patients with fetal anemia, intravascular intrauterine transfusion should be used. Other methods, such as mediation or erythrocyte stimulation, can help patients with kidney disease or those undergoing cancer treatment.
References
Alkatheri, A., Albekairy, A., Al-Rajhi, Y., Al Harbi, S., Alkhamees, K., Hejaili, F., Bustami, R., Abdel-Raz, W., Qandil, A., Mansour, M.. (2016). Comparison of the effectiveness of equal doses of short and long-acting erythrocyte stimulating agents for managing anemia in chronic kidney disease adult patients. International Journal of Medical Research and Health Science, 5, pp. 335-342.
Krysanova, V., Krysanov, I. & Ermakova, V. (2018). PCN179 – The comparative pharmacoeconomic analysis of using different erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for managing chemotherapy-induced anemia in adult cancer patients in actual practice in Russia. Value in Health, 21, S44-S45. Web.
Maisonneuve, E., Ben M’Barek, I., Leblanc, T., Da Costa, L., Friszer, S., & Pernot, F. (2019). Managing the unusual causes of fetal anemia. Fetal Diagnosis And Therapy, 47(2), 156-164.
Mosieri, C., Chandler, D., Reed, D., Craig, M., Hyatali, F., & Kallurkar, A. (2020). Managing preoperative anemia: Evolving concepts and strategies for improving patient outcomes. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology, 34(2), 183-197.
Steinbicker, A. (2019). Role of anesthesiologists in managing perioperative anemia. Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology, 32(1), 64-71.