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ACANTHOCYTES IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD SMEAR 1
#00063440
Author: RATEESH SAREEN, MBBS,MNAMS; MITUN KUMAR MAYANI, SMITIRUPA MISHRA, G N GUPTA
Category: Laboratory Hematology > Basic cell morphology > Red Blood Cell shape abnormalities > Acanthocytes
Published Date: 02/15/2021
Category: Laboratory Hematology > Basic cell morphology > Red Blood Cell shape abnormalities > Acanthocytes
Published Date: 02/15/2021
THE CASE OF 55 YEAR OLD MALE WITH RENAL FAILURE SHOWED PRESENCE OF ACANTHOCYTES ON PERIPHERAL BLOOD SMEAR. THE RED BLOOD CELLS WERE DENSE, SLIGHTLY CONTRACTED WITH IREGULARLY SPACED SPIKY PROJECTIONS FROM CELL SURFACE. ACANTOCYTES NEEDS TO BE DIFFERENTIATED FROM ECHINOCYTES – BURR CELLS WHICH HAVE SPINE LIKE PROJECTIONS FROM RED CELL SURFACE HAVING SIMILAR SIZE AND EVEN DISTRIBUTION. ACANTHOCYTES ARE SEEN IN CONDITIONS- ALCOHOLIC CIRRHOSIS, CHRONIC HEPATITIS, ABETALIPOPROTEINEMIA, ANNOREXIA NERVOSA, RENAL FAILURE, POST SPLENECTOMY, HYPOSPLENISM, HYPOTHYROIDISM AND VITAMIN E DEFECIENCY.
A 55-year-old man presented with renal failure. A peripheral blood smear showed many acanthocytes. The red cells were dense, slightly contracted with irregularly spaced spiked projections of the cell surface. In contrast, burr cells, or echinocytes, have more evenly-spaced projections of similar size. Acanthocytes are seen in a variety of conditions including alcoholic cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, abetalipoproteinemia, anorexia, renal failure, post-splenectomy, hypothyroidism, and vitamin E deficiency.
