PURE RED CELL APLASIA

Course overview

PURE RED CELL APLASIA (PRCA) IS A RARE DISORDER THAT DESIGNATES ANEMIA SECONDARY TO FAILURE OF ERYTHROPOIESIS. IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY NORMOCYTIC, NORMOCHROMIC ANEMIA, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH RETICULOCYTOPENIA IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD AND ABSENT OR INFREQUENT ERYTHROBLASTS IN THE BONE MARROW. PRCA HAS BEEN A SUBJECT OF MUCH LABORATORY RESEARCH NOT ONLY DUE TO THE IMMUNE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RED BLOOD CELLS BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF ITS ASSOCIATION WITH PARVOVIRUS B19 IN PATIENTS WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE RARITY OF THE DISEASE, PRCA CAN NEVER BE EVALUATED IN LARGE CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIALS. AS A RESULT, THE MAJORITY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BASED ON SMALL SERIES OF PATIENTS. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PURE RED CELL APLASIA, AND OUTLINES THE ROLE OF THE HEALTHCARE TEAM, EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.