Welcome to PICU Doc On Call, A Podcast Dedicated to Current and Aspiring Intensivists.

I'm Pradip Kamat and I'm Rahul Damania. We are coming to you from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Emory University School of Medicine.

Welcome to our Episode a 2-year-old with severe pallor and O2 desaturation.

Here's the case presented by Rahul:

A two-year-old presents to the PICU with severe pallor + O2 requirement. The patient went for a routine check with her primary care who noted the patient appeared severely pale. He sent the patient to the ED. An initial Hgb check revealed a Hgb of 1.5gm/dL. Per mother, she is otherwise healthy but a very picky eater. She also reports the patient drinks milk as a soothing adjunct at night, consuming between 12 - 36oz a day. No family h/o of anemia or any other blood disorders.

No h/o recent illness. Mother had a normal spontaneous full-term delivery. The patient is up to date on her immunizations. Per mother, developmental milestones are normal. The mother also denies any history of decreased activity in the child. Given the low Hgb, the patient was admitted to the PICU.

Let's transition into some history and physical exam components of this case?

What are key history features in this child?

Severe pallor in a 2-year-old
H/o being a picky eater
H/o excessive milk consumption
Pertinent negatives include: No obvious blood loss, No petechia, bruising, or jaundice

What did the physical exam show?

The patient was hypertensive, tachycardic to the 140s, and 10th% weight for growth percentiles
On physical exam, the patient was in no acute distress. Her lips, gums, and conjunctiva were pale. She had a systolic ejection murmur. As a pertinent negative, she had no hepatosplenomegaly. She also has no rash, bruising, or petechiae.

The lack of hepatosplenomegaly may indicate that the patient has no signs of extramedullary hematopoiesis. Patients with hemolytic processes resulting in anemia may present with signs of scleral icterus, jaundice, and hepatosplenomegaly resulting from increased red cell destruction. In fact, in an emergency department setting, the clinical detection of jaundice was found to have sensitivity and specificity of only approximately 70 percent.

To continue with our case, then what were the patient's labs consistent with:

Initial CBC showed: WBC 8.5K, RBC 1.14 (L), Hgb 1.5gm/dL; Hct 6.1, MCV 53.5, and an elevated RDW 37.7. Initial platelet count was 50K, reticulocyte count 1.1%
Peripheral smear revealed no blasts, thrombocytopenia - with occasional medium-sized platelets - ghost cells and anisocytosis/poikilocytosis- which appears most consistent with iron deficiency.
It was interesting that the patient had...

Approach to Critical Iron Deficiency Anemia

PICU Doc On Call