anaemia of prematurity

anaemia of prematurity

Anaemia characterised by decreased erythrocyte mass, which is most common in low- and very low-birth-weight infants.
 
Lab
Decreased reticulocytes, decreased erythropoietin production. Anaemia of prematurity is often compounded by aggressive and frequent diagnostic phlebotomies; because of the need for adequate oxygenation, premature infants often receive blood transfusions—average: 1.25 transfusions/infant, which can be reduced by administering erythropoietin to 0.87 transfusions/infant.

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