acanthocytosis

Acanthocytic PBS

I was called to see this patient for anemia. The anemia was complicating the treatment of heart failure. The anemia was accompanied by mild, borderline thrombocytopenia and leukopenia.

The history was limited by language barriers. Physical exam suggested some cachexia. A CT scan showed nodularity of the liver.

Examination of the peripheral smear ( photograph above) revealed the misshapen cells seen. This observation led to investigation of the patient's lipid profile. He was found to have an extraordinarily low LDL level, consistent with abetalipoproteinemia.

The idea

Shouldn't medical information be minable? Why should we be trapped by ideas of disease that were popular when the data was collected?

Now, when an increasing amount of medical information is electronic, making this data available for searches could greatly advance the pace and quality of medical research. This blog will attempt to promote and advance those ideas of shared medical information.