HYPERVISCOSITY SYNDROME

Course overview

HYPERVISCOSITY SYNDROME (HVS) IS AN ONCOLOGIC EMERGENCY THAT CLASSICALLY PRESENTS WITH THE TRIAD OF NEUROLOGICAL DEFICITS, VISUAL CHANGES, AND MUCOSAL BLEEDING. ELEVATED BLOOD VISCOSITY IS THE RESULT OF EITHER RED BLOOD CELL SHAPE DEFORMITY OR A PATHOLOGICAL INCREASE IN SERUM PROTEINS, RED BLOOD CELLS (RBC), WHITE BLOOD CELLS (WBC), OR PLATELETS. THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF HVS IS WALDENSTROM MACROGLOBULINEMIA (WM), AND THEREFORE, THE TERM HVS IS TYPICALLY USED TO DESCRIBE AN INCREASE IN SERUM PROTEINS. THIS ACTIVITY EXPLAINS HOW TO PROPERLY EVALUATE FOR THIS CONDITION, AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CARING FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.