Anemia

To my knowledge there is no association between anemia and CdLS. I have heard of several children with anemia, but most likely it is because anemia is common rather than associated directly with CdLS. The most likely cause of anemia in childhood is iron-deficiency anemia. There are certain parameters that determine if anemia is due to iron deficiency such as the size of the red blood cells (small) and other measurements on the blood count. Dietary insufficiency is one cause, and is so common that physicians often treat empirically (without an actual diagnosis) and see if it resolves.



For iron deficiency, the usual treatment is iron supplementation (based on weight) for two months, ideally taken with vitamin C (such as orange juice) to increase absorption. Other causes of anemia include: lead poisoning (have a lead level checked if a cause is unclear), chronic blood loss (e.g. stool, nosebleeds, menstruation, etc.), and genetic causes (inherited disorders of blood which can be screened for on a blood test - e.g. sickle cell disease in African-Americans, thalassemia, spherocytosis, etc.). If physicians cannot determine a cause of the anemia, they may recommend testing the bone marrow to search for rarer causes.



TK 7-13-10