Spur cell anemia

The clinical and laboratory findings in eight patients with spur cell anemia are presented and compared with other cases gathered from the literature. Although there is no specific clinical or laboratory abnormality, the condition can be recognized by a constellation of findings. The majority of pat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSouthern medical journal (Birmingham, Ala.) Vol. 75; no. 10; p. 1205
Main Authors Doll, D C, Doll, N J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.10.1982
Subjects
Acanthocytes - cytology
Adult
Anemia, Hemolytic - blood
Anemia, Hemolytic - diagnosis
Anemia, Hemolytic - etiology
Anemia, Hemolytic - mortality
Anemia, Hemolytic - therapy
Erythrocytes, Abnormal - cytology
Female
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic - blood
Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic - complications
Male
Middle Aged
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:The clinical and laboratory findings in eight patients with spur cell anemia are presented and compared with other cases gathered from the literature. Although there is no specific clinical or laboratory abnormality, the condition can be recognized by a constellation of findings. The majority of patients have a long history of ethanol abuse with clinical and laboratory manifestations of hepatocellular dysfunction. All patients have anemia, a reticulocyte count usually greater than 5%, and indirect hyperbilirubinemia. The sine qua non for the diagnosis of spur cell anemia is an increased percentage (usually greater than 20%) of acanthocytes on a peripheral smear. The prognosis of spur cell anemia is poor, the majority of patients dying within a year. From our study, spur cell anemia appears to be more prevalent than is generally reported.
ISSN:0038-4348
DOI:10.1097/00007611-198210000-00013