reticulocyte production index

Examples of reticulocyte production index in the following topics:

• Complete Blood Count

  • Like mature red blood cells, reticulocytes do not have a cell nucleus.
  • Calculating the reticulocyte production index indicates whether or not the bone marrow is producing new blood cells at a rate that will correct the anemia, and can also be used to monitor the progress of treatment for anemia.
  • When there is an increased production of red blood cells to overcome chronic or severe loss of mature red blood cells, such as in a hemolytic anemia, people often have a markedly high number and percentage of reticulocytes.
  • Abnormally low numbers of reticulocytes can be attributed to chemotherapy, aplastic anemia, pernicious anemia, bone marrow malignancies, problems of erythropoietin production, various vitamin or mineral deficiencies (B9, B12, iron), disease states (anemia of chronic disease) and other causes of anemia due to poor RBC production.
  • This schematic of a reticulocyte shows the reticular network of ribosomal RNA that differentiates the reticulocyte from mature red blood cells.

• Anemia

  • The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely, such as a hemorrhage or chronically, through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction (hemolysis), or deficient red blood cell production (ineffective hematopoiesis).
  • Reticulocyte counts, and the "kinetic" approach to anemia, have become more common than in the past in the large medical centers of the United States and some other wealthy nations; in part, because some automatic counters now have the capacity to include reticulocyte counts.
  • This is a quantitative measure of the bone marrow's production of new red blood cells.
  • The reticulocyte production index is a calculation of the ratio between the level of anemia and the extent to which the reticulocyte count has risen in response.
  • If the degree of anemia is significant, even a "normal" reticulocyte count actually may reflect an inadequate response.

• RBC Life Cycle

  • In the embryo, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production and bears similar types of stem cells at this stage of development.
  • Just before and after leaving the bone marrow, the developing cells are known as reticulocytes.
  • After 24 hours in the bloodstream, reticulocytes mature into functional RBCs.

• Sickle-Cell Disease

  • This crisis is triggered by parvovirus B19, which directly affects erythropoiesis (production of red blood cells) by invading the red cell precursors and multiplying in them and destroying them.
  • Parvovirus infection nearly completely prevents red blood cell production for two to three days.
  • In HbSS, the full blood count reveals hemoglobin levels in the range of 6–8 g/dL with a high reticulocyte count (as the bone marrow compensates for the destruction of sickle cells by producing more red blood cells).

• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

  • Obesity: increasing body mass index is associated with more severe GERD.
  • In a large series of 2000 patients with symptomatic reflux disease, it has been shown that 13 percent of changes in esophageal acid exposure is attributable to changes in body mass index
  • Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, which can be present with increased gastric acidity due to gastrin production.

• Menopause

  • The transition from reproductive to non-reproductive is the result of a reduction in female hormonal production by the ovaries.
  • An early menopause can be related to cigarette smoking, higher body mass index, racial and ethnic factors, illnesses, chemotherapy, radiation and the surgical removal of the uterus and/or both ovaries.
  • Menopause is based on the natural or surgical cessation of estradiol and progesterone production by the ovaries, which are a part of the body's endocrine system of hormone production, in this case the hormones which make reproduction possible and influence sexual behavior.

• Congenital Heart Defects

  • Congenital heart defects cause abnormal heart structure resulting in production of certain sounds called heart murmur.
  • As noted in several studies following similar body mass index (BMI) ranges, prepregnant and gestating women, who were obese (BMI ≥ 30), carried a statistically significant risk of birthing children with congenital heart defects (CHD) compared to normal-weight women (BMI= 19-24.9).