Can chronic hypoxia cause polycythemia?
Polycythemia can be linked to secondary causes, such as, chronic hypoxia or tumors releasing erythropoietin. Abnormally increased red cell production in the bone marrow causes polycythemia vera. Treatment of secondary polycythemia is dependent on the underlying condition.
Why does polycythemia occur in newborns?
Polycythemia is an abnormally high concentration of red blood cells. This disorder may result from postmaturity, diabetes in the mother, twin-to-twin transfusions, in which blood flows from one fetus to the other, or a low oxygen level in the fetus’s blood.
How does hypoxia cause polycythemia?
Elevated hemoglobin levels due to chronic hypoxia in patients with chronic lung disorders such as COPD or sleep apnea are the result of an increased production of erythropoietin, which in turn causes increased production of red blood cells.
Which risk factors put a newborn at risk for polycythemia?
Polycythemia – newborn
- Delay in clamping the umbilical cord.
- Diabetes in the baby’s birth mother.
- Inherited diseases and genetic problems.
- Too little oxygen reaching body tissues (hypoxia)
- Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (occurs when blood moves from one twin to the other)
What triggers polycythemia?
Polycythemia vera occurs when a mutation in a gene causes a problem with blood cell production. Normally, your body regulates the number of each of the three types of blood cells you have — red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
What is neonatal polycythemia?
Neonatal polycythemia is characterized by a venous hematocrit (hct) that greatly exceeds normal values for gestational and postnatal age. This condition affects approximately 1 to 5 percent of newborns.
Does newborn polycythemia go away?
In most cases, polycythemia has no lasting effects. As the extra red blood cells break down, the baby will probably have yellowing of the skin (jaundice) for a short time. This is normal.
Can hypothyroidism cause polycythemia?
The most common thyroid dysfunctions, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism affect blood cells and cause anemia with different severity. These thyroid disorders also cause thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and even in rare cases cause pancytopenia (in hypothyroidism).
How common is polycythemia in newborns?
Polycythemia is a common finding (2-5%) of term newborns. Polycythemia is associated with changes in organ blood flow. However some of these changes are a physiologic response to the elevated HCT and not associated with short or long term organ dysfunction while others may cause acute problems in the newborn period.
What causes thick blood in newborns?
Hyperviscosity (say “hy-per-vis-COSS-uh-tee”) is a thickening of the blood. In newborns, it’s usually caused by having too many red blood cells. Polycythemia and hyperviscosity often happen together. If your baby’s blood is thicker than normal, it’s hard for the blood to flow through the blood vessels.
Can testosterone cause polycythemia?
Testosterone and other androgens have an erythropoietic stimulating effect that can cause polycythemia, which manifests as an increase in hemoglobin, hematocrit, or red blood cell count.