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PA13.2-4 | Welcome to Approach to Anemia: Classification & Diagnostic Workup
Learning Objectives
- Define anemia using WHO criteria adjusted for age, sex, pregnancy, and Indian population norms
- Classify anemia morphologically (MCV-based) and etiologically (production/destruction/loss)
- Apply the reticulocyte production index (RPI) to distinguish hypoproliferative from hyperproliferative anemia
- Grade anemia severity using WHO/CTCAE Hb cutoffs
- Construct a stepwise 5-step diagnostic workup algorithm for a patient presenting with pallor and low Hb
- Interpret a peripheral blood smear morphology in the context of the MCV-based decision tree
INSTRUCTIONS
Anemia is the most common hematological disorder in India — the NFHS-5 survey found 57% of women aged 15–49 years are anemic. As a physician, you will encounter anemia every single day, across every specialty. This module gives you the diagnostic thinking framework: how to classify what you are looking at, how to grade severity, and — critically — how to work backward from a blood count to a cause. The sibling module (SDL 2) will take you into the laboratory, where you will actually perform these tests. Reference back to Cluster H1 for your understanding of hematopoiesis, stem cell compartments, and specimen tube science, which underpin everything here.
References
- Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed., Ch 14 — Diseases of Red Blood Cells (textbook)
- Harsh Mohan: Textbook of Pathology, 8th ed., Ch 12 — Diseases of Blood (textbook)
- Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology, 14th ed., Ch 22 — Classification and Laboratory Investigations of Anemia (textbook)
- WHO: Haemoglobin Concentrations for the Diagnosis of Anaemia, 2011 (WHO/NMH/NHD/MNM/11.1) (guideline)
- ICMR Guidelines on Anemia in India — National Iron Plus Initiative, 2013 (guideline)
Version 2.0 | NMC CBUC 2024