Causes of Polycythemia
List of causes of Polycythemia
Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions
(see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Polycythemia)
that could possibly cause Polycythemia includes:
More causes:
see full list of causes for Polycythemia
Causes of Polycythemia (Diseases Database):
The follow list shows some of the possible medical causes of Polycythemia
that are listed by the Diseases Database:
Source: Diseases Database
Polycythemia Causes: Book Excerpts
Polycythemia as a complication of other conditions:
Other conditions that might have
Polycythemia as a complication may,
potentially, be an underlying cause of Polycythemia.
Our database lists the following as having
Polycythemia as a complication of that condition:
Polycythemia as a symptom:
Conditions listing Polycythemia
as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Polycythemia.
Our database lists the following as having
Polycythemia as a symptom of that condition:
Related information on causes of Polycythemia:
As with all medical conditions,
there may be many causal factors.
Further relevant information on causes of Polycythemia may be found in:
Causes of Polycythemia: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the causes of Polycythemia.
Secondary polycythemia:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Secondary polycythemia may result from increased production of erythropoietin. This hormone, which is possibly produced and secreted in the kidneys, stimulates bone marrow production of RBCs. Increased production may be a compensatory physiologic response to hypoxemia, which may result from:
❑ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
❑ hemoglobin (Hb) abnormalities (such as carboxyhemoglobinemia, which is seen in heavy smokers)
❑ heart failure (causing a decreased ventilation-perfusion ratio)
❑ right-to-left shunting of blood in the heart (as in transposition of the great vessels)
❑ central or peripheral alveolar hypoventilation (as in barbiturate intoxication or pickwickian syndrome)
❑ low oxygen content at high altitudes.
Increased production of erythropoietin may also be an inappropriate (pathologic) response to renal disease (such as renal vascular impairment, renal cysts, or hydronephrosis), to central nervous system disease (such as encephalitis and parkinsonism), to neoplasms (such as renal tumors, uterine myomas, or cerebellar hemangiomas), or to endocrine disorders (such as Cushing’s syndrome, Bartter’s syndrome, or pheochromocytomas). Rarely, secondary polycythemia results from a recessive genetic trait.
Secondary polycythemia occurs in approximately 2 out of every 100,000 people living at or near sea level; incidence rises among those living at high altitudes.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Spurious polycythemia:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
There are three possible causes of spurious polycythemia:
❑ Dehydration — Conditions that promote severe fluid loss decrease plasma levels and lead to hemoconcentration. Such conditions include persistent vomiting or diarrhea, burns, adrenocortical insufficiency, aggressive diuretic therapy, decreased fluid intake, diabetic acidosis, and renal disease.
❑ Hemoconcentration due to stress — Nervous stress leads to hemoconcentration by some unknown mechanism (possibly by temporarily decreasing circulating plasma volume or vascular redistribution of erythrocytes). This form of erythrocytosis (chronically elevated HCT) is particularly common in the middle-aged man who’s a chronic smoker and a type A personality (tense, hard driving, and anxious).
❑ High normal RBC mass and low normal plasma volume — In many patients, an increased HCT merely reflects a normally high RBC mass and low plasma volume. This is particularly common in patients who don’t smoke, aren’t obese, and have no history of hypertension.
Other factors that may be associated with spurious polycythemia include hypertension, thromboembolitic disease, elevated serum cholesterol and uric acid levels, and familial tendency. It usually affects middle-aged people and occurs more commonly in men than in women.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Polycythemia vera:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
In polycythemia vera, uncontrolled and rapid cellular reproduction and maturation cause proliferation or hyperplasia of all bone marrow cells (panmyelosis). The cause of such uncontrolled cellular activity is unknown but it’s probably due to a multipotential stem cell defect.
Polycythemia vera usually occurs between ages 40 and 60, most commonly among males of Jewish ancestry; it seldom affects children or blacks and doesn’t appear to be familial.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Salivation, increased [Polysialia, ptyalism]:
Medical causes
(Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))
Bell’s palsy
Paralysis of the facial nerve causes an inability to control salivation or close the eye on the affected side.
Pregnancy
In the early months of pregnancy, many women experience increased salivation, nausea, and breast tenderness.
Stomatitis
Mucosal ulcers may be accompanied by moderately increased salivation, mouth pain, fever, and erythema. Spontaneous healing usually occurs in 7 to 10 days, but scarring and recurrence are possible.
Syphilis
With secondary syphilis, mucosal ulcers cause increased salivation that may persist up to a year. Related findings include fever, malaise, headache, anorexia, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, and generalized lymphadenopathy. A bilaterally symmetrical rash appears on the arms, trunk, palms, soles, face, and scalp. Condylomata develop in the genital and perianal areas.
Tuberculosis
Certain forms of tuberculosis may produce solitary, irregularly shaped mouth or tongue ulcers, covered with exudate, that cause increased salivation. Other findings include weight loss, anorexia, fever, fatigue, malaise, dyspnea, cough, night sweats (a common sign), and hemoptysis.
Other causes
Arsenic poisoning
Common effects of arsenic poisoning are diarrhea, diffuse skin hyperpigmentation, and edema of the eyelids, face, and ankles; increased salivation occurs infrequently. The patient may also exhibit garlicky breath odor, pruritus, alopecia, irritated mucous membranes, headache, drowsiness, and confusion. He may also develop muscle aching, weakness, seizures, and paresthesia in a stocking-glove distribution pattern.
Drugs
Increased salivation may occur with iodide toxicity, but the earliest symptoms are a brassy taste and a burning sensation in the mouth and throat. Associated findings include sneezing, irritated eyelids, and (commonly) pain in the frontal sinus.
Pilocarpine and other miotics used to treat glaucoma may be absorbed systemically, increasing salivation. Cholinergics, such as bethanechol, may also cause this symptom.
Mercury poisoning
Stomatitis, characterized by increased salivation and a metallic taste, commonly occurs in those with mercury poisoning. The patient’s teeth may be loose and his gums are painful, swollen, and prone to bleeding. A blue line appears on the gingivae. The patient may also experience personality changes, memory loss, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, paresthesia, and tremors of the eyelids, lips, tongue, and fingers.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition), 2006
Polycythemia, secondary:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
Secondary polycythemia may result from increased production of erythropoietin. This hormone, which may be produced and secreted in the kidneys, stimulates bone marrow production of RBCs. Increased production may be a compensatory physiologic response to hypoxemia, which may result from:
❑ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
❑ hemoglobin (Hb) abnormalities (such as carboxyhemoglobinemia, which is seen in heavy smokers)
❑ heart failure (causing a decreased ventilation-perfusion ratio)
❑ right-to-left shunting of blood in the heart (as in transposition of the great vessels)
❑ central or peripheral alveolar hypo-ventilation (as in barbiturate intoxication or pickwickian syndrome)
❑ low oxygen content at high altitudes.
Increased production of erythro-poietin may also be an inappropriate (pathologic) response to renal disease (such as renal vascular impairment, renal cysts, or hydronephrosis), to central nervous system disease (such as encephalitis and parkinsonism), to neoplasms (such as renal tumors, uterine myomas, or cerebellar hemangiomas), or to endocrine disorders (such as Cushing’s syndrome, Bartter’s syndrome, or pheochromocytomas).
Rarely, secondary polycythemia results from a recessive genetic trait.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Polycythemia, spurious:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
There are three possible causes of spurious polycythemia.
Dehydration
Conditions that promote severe fluid loss decrease plasma levels and lead to hemoconcentration. Such conditions include persistent vomiting or diarrhea, burns, adrenocortical insufficiency, aggressive diuretic therapy, decreased fluid intake, diabetic acidosis, and renal disease.
Hemoconcentration due
to stress
Nervous stress leads to hemoconcentration by an unknown mechanism (possibly by temporarily decreasing circulating plasma volume or vascular redistribution of erythrocytes). This form of erythrocytosis (chronically elevated hematocrit) is particularly common in middle-aged men who are chronic smokers and have type A personalities (tense, hard-driving, anxious).
High-normal RBC mass and
low-normal plasma volume
In many patients, an increased hematocrit merely reflects a normally high red cell mass and low plasma volume. This is particularly common in patients who are nonsmokers, aren’t obese, and have no history of hypertension.
Other factors that may be associated with spurious polycythemia include hypertension, thromboembolitic disease, elevated serum cholesterol and uric acid levels, and familial tendency.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Polycythemia vera:
Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)
With polycythemia vera, uncontrolled and rapid cellular reproduction and maturation cause proliferation or hyperplasia of all bone marrow cells (panmyelosis). The cause of such uncontrolled cellular activity is unknown; however, it’s probably due to a stem cell defect.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Salivation, increased:
Medical causes
(Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses)
Bell’s palsy
With Bell’s palsy, paralysis of the facial nerve causes an inability to control salivation or close the eye on the affected side. The affected side of the face sags and is expressionless, the nasolabial fold flattens, and the palpebral fissure (the distance between the upper and lower eyelids) widens. The corneal reflex may be diminished or absent and the patient may have partial loss of taste or abnormal taste sensation.
Mercury poisoning
Stomatitis, characterized by increased salivation and a metallic taste, commonly occurs in those with mercury poisoning. The patient’s teeth may be loose and his gums are painful, swollen, and prone to bleeding. A blue line appears on the gingivae. The patient may also experience personality changes, memory loss, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, paresthesia, and tremors of the eyelids, lips, tongue, and fingers.
Pregnancy
In the early months of pregnancy, many women experience increased salivation, nausea, gum swelling, and breast tenderness.
Stomatitis
Mucosal ulcers may be accompanied by moderately increased salivation, mouth pain, fever, and erythema. Spontaneous healing usually occurs in 7 to 10 days, but scarring and recurrence are possible.
Syphilis
With secondary syphilis, mucosal ulcers cause increased salivation that may persist up to 1 year. Related findings include fever, malaise, headache, anorexia, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, and generalized lymphadenopathy. A bilaterally symmetrical rash appears on the arms, trunk, palms, soles, face, and scalp. Condylomata develop in the genital and perianal areas.
Tuberculosis
Certain forms of tuberculosis may produce solitary, irregularly-shaped mouth or tongue ulcers, covered with exudate, that cause increased salivation. Other findings include weight loss, anorexia, fever, fatigue, malaise, dyspnea, cough, night sweats (a common sign), and hemoptysis.
Other causes
Drugs
Increased salivation may occur with iodide toxicity, but the earliest symptoms are a brassy taste and a burning sensation in the mouth and throat. Associated findings include sneezing, irritated eyelids, and (commonly) pain in the frontal sinus.
Pilocarpine and other miotics used to treat glaucoma may be absorbed systemically, increasing salivation. Cholinergics, such as bethanechol and neostigmine, may also cause this symptom.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Signs & Symptoms: A 2-in-1 Reference for Nurses, 2007
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