Dolores welborn is a 28-year-old attorney living in portland, oregon. dolores is in the second trimester of pregnancy with her first child, and though her pregnancy had been progressing normally, recently she has noticed that she tires very easily and is short of breath from even the slightest exertion. she also has experienced periods of light-headedness, though not to the point of fainting. other changes she has noticed are cramping in her legs, a desire to crunch on ice, and the fact that her tongue is sore. she doubts that all of these symptoms are related to one another, but she is concerned, and she makes an appointment to see her physician.
upon examining dolores, her physician finds that she has tachycardia, pale gums and nail beds, and her tongue is swollen. given her history and the findings on her physical exam, the physician suspects that dolores is anemic and orders a sample of her blood for examination. the results are shown:
red blood cell count hemoglobin (hb) hematocrit (hct) serum iron
3.5 million/ mm3 7 g/ dl
30%
low
a. is dolores’ red blood cell number- high, normal or low?
b. is dolores’ hematocrit- high, normal or low?
c. iron (fe) is used to make what specific protein in the blood?
d. based on these blood results, what is dolores’ probable diagnosis?
e. what is the major problem for dolores and her baby with this diagnosis?
f. why are women more common sufferers of this disorder?
g. what would the treatment for dolores’ condition be?