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Anemia Screen |
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Anemia is the condition in which a person has either too few red blood cells (RBC) or too little hemoglobin within their red blood cells. Hemoglobin is the protein responsible for carrying oxygen, thus with too few red blood cells or too little hemoglobin, insufficient oxygen is transported to the body’s tissues and organs. Anemia commonly causes a patient to feel tired, short of breath, develop frequent infections, or experience heart palpitations. On the other hand, patients may be anemic and asymptomatic as well. The most common reason of anemia in our age is iron deficiency. About 2 billion people have anemia in the world due to iron deficiency. |
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Causes of anemias |
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Risk of iron deficiency anemia |
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- Premature babies don’t have enough time to accumulate iron in utero and grow faster than term infants, which may deplete iron stores within 2 to 3 months.
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Infant with low birth weight and infants fed non-iron fortified infant formula.
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Breastfed infants who are receiving inadequate dietary iron after age 6 months.
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Infants with poor weight gain
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The early introduction of whole cow milk before 1 year of age or take > 24 oz of whole cow milk per day after the first year of life. Cow milk is low in iron.
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Drinking too much cow milk may affect iron absorption and cause occult bowel bleeding.
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Associated problems with iron deficiency anemia |
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- Poor growth
- Mental and motor developmental delays
- Cognitive impairment,
- Behavior disturbances
- Increased susceptibility to infection
- Increases lead absorption and increase blood lead level
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Prevention of iron deficiency anemia and screening |
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| Birth |
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Encourage breastfeeding until 12 months of age.
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Give only iron-fortified formula (10 to 12 mg/L) for infants who are not breastfed.
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For breastfed infants who were preterm or of low birthweight, give 2 to 4 mg/kg per day of iron drops (maximum of 15 mg/d) and screen for anemia before 6 months old.
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| 4-6 months old |
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| 6 months old |
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| 9-12 months old |
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Initial routine anemia screening test for infants between ages 9 and 12 months of age and again 6 months later, esp. for infants at risks of iron deficiency anemia
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Introduce plain pureed meats.
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Don’t introduce cow milk before 12 months of age.
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1-5 years old
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- Encourage iron-rich foods, limit milk consumption to 24 oz daily.
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| 6 years old and above |
- Encourage iron-rich foods and foods rich in vitamin C to improve iron absorption
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