Drug Treatment for Anemia

Pharmacotherapy for Hematologic Disorders

Anemia is an hematologic disorder that occurs when the individual lacks the requisite number of healthy red blood cells for bringing oxygen to the body’s cells. Without oxygen, the body’s cells are essentially choked to death. Red blood cells depend on a number of supports, such as iron, B12, and folate for healthy development. In children these supports are especially necessary and they are still in a developmental stage. Treating children with anemia can depend upon the severity and source causing the anemia; however, there are some pharmacotherapy options available. This paper will consider drug treatments for patients with anemia and the factor of age and how it plays a part in the treatment process.

As Ozdemir (2015) notes, “reduced erythrocyte count or a hemoglobin (Hb) value 5 percentile below the normal hemoglobin value specified for that age in healthy individuals is defined as anemia” (p. 11). Treating this condition, then, requires a drug that can address the issues in the blood without harming the individual’s development, which is an especially important factor because of the age of the patient. Because there are many different types of anemia, such as iron deficiency anemia to sickle cell anemia, to hemolytic anemia, to congenital sideroblastic anemia, it is important to first identify what is causing the anemia before embarking on a pharmacotherapy strategy in pediatric medicine.

If the anemia is caused by a deficiency of vitamins and minerals, the patient should be prescribed a strong dosage of the missing vitamins and minerals using supplements. A change in the child’s diet may also be in order, as a lot of minerals and vitamins that children receive come from the foods they eat. Blood transfusion may also be necessary if pharmacotherapy does not work. Factors that will determine the kind of treatment required will be age, severity, and the child’s tolerance of certain medications: if the child’s body rejects certain medications then it limits the options available to the health care practitioner.

Mainly the provider will strive to achieve a balance in pharmacotherapy treatment by mixing all the approaches together. The child will be prescribed a prescription of minerals, vitamins, histamine antagonist, vasopressors, and glucocorticosteroids in order to facilitate the body’s process of developing red blood cells while fortifying the body’s strength as it copes with whatever condition is causing the anemia in the first place. Blood transfusions may still be necessary just to get good, working blood cells into the body while the process is begun.