Polychromasia Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Polychromasia is a type of disorder that is directly concerned with the abnormality in the blood stream of the patient. A patient suffering from polychromasia has the high level of immature blood cells. The immure blood cells refers to those cells that are not completely developed. The process of development of the cells is to be handled by the bone marrow. Once the bone marrow start releasing immature cells, it can cause the levels inside the blood to go abnormal. The blood formation inside the body is done by bone marrow, the bone marrow start releasing the immature cells in the blood stream.

The word Poly refers too many, and chromatic means color. The Polychromasia is a type of condition in which the red blood cells inside the body start turn grayish blue in color. This is normally found out by examining the blood through the microscope. As soon as the red blood cells are developed properly the bone marrow adds the cells to the blood stream, but in case of Polychromasia immature blood cells are released in the blood that causes abnormality.  Due to the hormone stimulation, the process of releasing immature blood cells starts. There is always a possibly that is a structural damage done to the bone marrow.

Polychromasia Symptoms

Some commonly observed symptoms of polychromasia are

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Circulatory problems
• Breathlessness
• Palpitations
• Increase load on Heart
• Pale color
• Asthenia
• Dizziness
• Heart Sinking
• Mild Unconsciousness

Polychromasia Causes

It is a fact that the Polychromasia is due to the unusual behavior of the bone marrow. The performance of the bone marrow can change due to the damage done. There are number of reasons for the damage of the bone marrow, one of the prime reasons is the scarring, that is also called fibrosis. Another aspect could be the presence of tumor in the bone marrow. Most of the time, doctors prefer to examine the presence of reticulocyte. High levels of reticulocyte can indicate that there is an existence of Polychromasia.

 There are various types of anemia. Normocytic anemia is a common type of anemia that is also caused by the abnormal levels of blood cells inside the body. The under production of these cells is called hemolysis. Basically anemia is a type of issue that is released due to the underproduction or overproduction of the blood cells. The defective blood cells inside the body can be due to the anemia. The requirement of the red blood cells can increase in such type of situations, so premature red blood cells are discharged. The release of premature red blood cells can eventually lead to the issue of Polychromasia.

 According to the medical science there is connection between the Polychromasia and reticulocytosis. However the connection is not that strong. There are levels of red blood cells monitored during the tests, if the levels of red blood cells are found abnormal than reticulocyte count is also taken into the consideration. The high level of reticulocyte count means that the patient is suffering from the possible hemolysis. There is a test called coombs test that is to be performed by the experts, the test results can verify that the patient is suffering from mediated hemolysis or not. In blood smears Polychromasia can be seen easily.

Polychromasia Treatment

It is important to rule out the cause of polychromasia before starting any treatment. Some possible treatment approaches are 

Iron supplement therapy: In most of the cases iron deficiency is the main cause for production of immature RBC's or structurally abnormal red blood cells. Oral iron therapy or intravenous iron therapy is beneficial in case of iron deficiency.

Steroidal therapy: In some auto-immune hemolytic diseases steroidal therapy is effective because it exerts its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Steroidal can only used for disease management not for cure.   

Blood Transfusion: In emergency condition where doctor has not enough time to rule out underlying cause of polychromasia blood transfusion is mainstay to stabilize circulatory system and physiological functions.