This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages without signing in

Idiopathic erythrocytosis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Also known as 'benign erythrocytois' (although it does not always have a benign course) and 'pure erythrocytois' (since it was thought to be a pure red cell disorder), this condition applies to patients with increased red cell mass but investigations do not reveal any form of known primary or secondary erythrocytosis (1).

According to several studies there is a male preponderance to this disease (1).

The incidence of vascular complications is high in idiopathic erythrocytosis:

  • 46.6% patients at presentation in one study and 17% of the total patients died of cerebrovascular accidents
  • according to another study the incidence of fatal thromboembolic and haemorrhagic events was similar to patients with polycythemia vera (1)

Management plan of idiopathic erythrocytosis include:

  • venesection
    • to reduce the Hct to < 0.45 if Hct is > 0.54
    • to reduce the Hct to < 0.45 if < 0.54 and there is increased risk of thrombosis i.e evidence of ischaemia, previous history of thrombosis, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes or hypertension
  • cytoreductive therapy is contraindicated (1)

Reference:


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.