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Hemolytic anemia in adults: main causes and diagnostic procedures
Constance Guillaud1, Valentine Loustau, Marc Michel
1Department of Internal Medicine, National Referal Center for Adults' Immune Cytopenias, Henri Mondor University Hospital, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil, France.
Abstract:
Hemolytic anemia is not an exceptional situation in adults. Although establishing the hemolytic mechanism of an anemia is usually rather easy, finding the etiology may be quite difficult as both hereditary (corpuscular) and acquired causes of hemolytic anemia may occur during adulthood. The diagnosis of hemolytic anemia, therefore, requires a multistep procedure taking into account both the patient's and family history, a careful analysis of the blood smear and a direct antiglobulin test. Based on these first data, the diagnostic procedure may then require more specific tests whose indications are discussed in this review.
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