Haematology – Haemostasiology
Haematology comprises an independent clinical speciality dealing with blood component (white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets) and coagulation factor disorders. Accordingly, the field of Haematology embraces the etiology, clinical symptoms, diagnosis and therapy of haematological diseases. Haematological disorders are determined as follows ˸
-Red blood cell disorders, the well known anaemias, including iron deficiency anaemia (due to iron shortage), anaemia of inflammation and chronic renal failure, megaloblastic anaemia (due to Vitamin B12 shortage), sideroblastic anaemias-porphyrias, haemoglobin disorders (α- and β-thalassaemias, sickle-cell anaemia), congenital and acquired haemolytic anaemias (autoimmune haemolytic anaemia), and other disorders.
-White blood cell disorders, whose broad spectrum ranges from myeloproliferative neoplasms (polycythemia vera, idiopathic thrombocytosis, chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis), disorders of eosinophils, chronic myelogenous leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes to acute myelogenous and lymphocytic leukemias, lymphoproliferative disorders ( chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas ), as well as plasmacytic dyscrasias (multiple myeloma, Waldenstroem’s macroglobulinaemia, solid plasmacytomas and amyloidosis).
– Disorders of platelets and coagulation factors, including disorders of blood vessel wall, abnormalities of platelet function and number, well known as thrombocytopenias ( idiopathic autoimmune thrombocytopenia and other forms of thrombocytopenia of immunological and non immunological origin ), A- and B-haemophilias, von-Willenbrand disease, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura-uraemic-haemolytic syndrome and thrombosis. Thrombosis, meaning blood hypercoagulability, is a field of utter importance concerning thrombophilic patients and pregnant women.
– Immunohaematology, red blood cell and other blood product transfusion, therapeutic haemaphaeresis and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation furtherly comprise the broad spectrum of Haematology.
-Lastly, haematological consultation is widely required in clinical practice concerning pregnant women, patients suffering from endocrine disorders, solid tumors, connective tissue disorders, renal failure, liver, infectious, cardiac and lung diseases, as well as surgical patients in order to prevent perioperative bleeding or thrombosis.