Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia

Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) is a rare but life-threatening cause of acquired hemolytic anemia. The clinical presentation comprises of both bleeding and thrombotic episodes depending on etiology. This makes the diagnosis challenging. Since conditions like thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and disseminated intravascular coagulations (DIC) have different treatment modalities, these need to be quickly differentiated from each other and other causes of hemolytic anemia. For improved patient management and prognosis, an index of suspicion is critical. In this chapter, a clinical case scenario is presented followed by a step-by-step evidence-based approach to utilize specialized and advanced tests to unravel final diagnosis of MAHA. A comprehensive description of pathophysiology of disease , importance of testing ADAMTS-13 enzyme and points of differentiation between DIC, TTP and atypical Hemolytic Uremic syndrome (aHUS) are discussed in questionanswer format. To gain expertise in this topic and enhance your diagnostic skills for effective planning of management, read this chapter on Microangiopathic Hemolytic Anemia (MAHA).