Pediatric Chronic Anemia Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Susumu Inoue, MD; Chief Editor: Max J Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA   more...
 
Updated: Aug 31, 2011
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Conditions to consider in the differential diagnosis of pediatric chronic anemia, in addition to those in the next section, include the following:

  • Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
  • Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia
  • Diamond-Blackfan anemia
  • G-6-PD deficiency
  • Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), congenital or acquired
  • Iron refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA)
  • Nutritional iron deficiency
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
  • Pure red cell aplasia
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Sideroblastic anemia
  • Unstable hemoglobinopathies
  • Hookworm infection
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Myelodysplastic syndrome
  • Myelofibrosis
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Thalassemia
  • Thalassemia intermedia
  • Pyruvate kinase deficiency

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Susumu Inoue, MD  Professor of Pediatrics and Human Development, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Associate Director of Pediatric Education, Department of Pediatrics, Hurley Medical Center

Susumu Inoue, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Society for Pediatric Research

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Margaret T Lee, MD  Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology, Children's Hospital of New York, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Margaret T Lee, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Society of Hematology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

John T Truman, MD, MPH  Professor Emeritus of Clinical Pediatrics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

John T Truman, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for the History of Medicine, American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, and New York Academy of Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

J Martin Johnston, MD  Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Mercer University School of Medicine; Director of Hematology/Oncology, The Children's Hospital at Memorial University Medical Center; Consulting Oncologist/Hematologist, St Damien's Pediatric Hospital

J Martin Johnston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics and American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mary L Windle, PharmD  Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Steven K Bergstrom, MD  Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center of Oakland

Steven K Bergstrom, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Oncology Group, and International Society for Experimental Hematology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Max J Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA  Senior Vice President, Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children's National Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Oncology, and Pediatrics, Georgetown University School of Medicine; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Max J Coppes, MD, PhD, MBA is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Society for Pediatric Research

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

  1. Skeppner G, Kreuger A, Elinder G. Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood: prospective study of 10 patients with special reference to viral infections. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. May 2002;24(4):294-8. [Medline].

  2. Penchansky L, Jordan JA. Transient erythroblastopenia of childhood associated with human herpesvirus type 6, variant B. Am J Clin Pathol. Aug 1997;108(2):127-32. [Medline].

  3. Prassouli A, Papadakis V, Tsakris A, Stefanaki K, Garoufi A, Haidas S. Classic transient erythroblastopenia of childhood with human parvovirus B19 genome detection in the blood and bone marrow. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. Jun 2005;27(6):333-6. [Medline].

  4. Iolascon A, Camaschella C, Pospisilova D, Piscopo C, Tchernia G, Beaumont C. Natural history of recessive inheritance of DMT1 mutations. J Pediatr. Jan 2008;152(1):136-9. [Medline].

  5. Baker RD, Greer FR. Diagnosis and prevention of iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia in infants and young children (0-3 years of age). Pediatrics. Nov 2010;126(5):1040-50. [Medline].

  6. Iolascon A, De Falco L. Mutations in the gene encoding DMT1: clinical presentation and treatment. Semin Hematol. Oct 2009;46(4):358-70. [Medline].

  7. Finberg KE. Iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia. Semin Hematol. Oct 2009;46(4):378-86. [Medline].

 
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Blood smear from a black male with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency that resulted in acute hemolysis. Note blister (helmet or bite) cells and very dense spherocytic cells. The blood smear is virtually pathognomic of this disorder.
Blood smear of hereditary spherocytosis (HS). Note many spherocytic cells. Not all patients with HS are anemic.
Blood smear of hemoglobin C trait. Note numerous target cells. Target cells are a characteristic of this hemoglobinopathy. The trait patient has no anemia. Target cells are also seen in patients with iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia, sickle cell disease, and liver disease.
Blood smear of a patient with homozygous sickle cell disease. Note several sickle cells, a nucleated RBC, and a red cell with Howell-Jolly body (indicated by an arrow), evidence of functional asplenia.
A blood smear showing a few schistocytes. This patient had Kaposi type hemangioendothelioma with periodic microangiopathic hemolysis and disseminated coagulopathy (Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon).
A blood smear of a patient with beta thalassemia trait. Note red cells pointed by arrows. Multiple bluish dots in the cells are called basophilic stipplings and consist of aggregated ribosomes. They are often present in immature red cells such as reticulocytes.
 
 
 
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