OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is anemia of chronic disease. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how anemia of chronic disease will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a tradition question bank (as all of the answers will be the same), however seeing the classic “test” characterization for a disease is quite valuable.
QUESTION EXAMPLES
Question # 1
A 8 year old girl with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is brought to the clinic because she has been experiencing progressive fatigue for the past 1 year. Her parents explains that she has had a fever and knee swelling “at times” during the past month. In the clinic she appears to be ill, and has a temperature of 102.2°F, pulse of 105/min, and respiration’s of 18/min. A physical examination shows pale conjunctivae, and the spleen is palpated 1 cm below the left costal margin. The right knee is warm, red, swollen, and the patient is not able to bend it completely. Lab results are shown below:
- Hemoglobin: 9.3 g/dL **
- Mean corpuscular volume: 75 µm³
- Leukocyte count: 12,000/mm³
- Reticulocyte count: 0.4%
- Platelet count: 420,000/mm³
What is the most likely reason for this patient’s anemia?
Explanation: anemia + arthritis = anemia of chronic disease
Page Updated: 11.19.2016