Question

A patient with cancer has been bleeding internally because the blood vessels within the tumor keep rupturing. As a result, the patient has a very low hematocrit. The patient refuses blood transfusions.

1. a) is the patient's erythropoietin secretion likely to be high, low, or baseline? Explain.
2. b) How/why might injections of EPO help this patient?
3. c) Which of the following drug classes would be best for helping this patient to reduce his internal bleeding? Explain why.  Choice 1: vitamin K antagonists, which prevent the synthesis of clotting factors by the liver; choice 2: Plasmin inhibitors, which inhibit the activation of plasminogen; choice 3: Fibrinolytics, which increase the activation of plasminogen; choice 4: Factor Xa inhibitors, which prevent the activation of Factor X

Answer 1

A. Erythropoietin level will be high.

Because due to internal bleeding there will be decreased hematocrit so low oxygen carrying capacity of blood. low oxygen levels is detected by kidney and secretes erythropoietin to increase the number of red blood cells.

B. Erythropoietin injections increases the erythropoietin levels in the blood and therefore increases the oxygen carrying capacity of blood.

C .2: Plasmin inhibitors, which inhibit the activation of plasminogen.

plasminogen dissolves the clot . If clot is dissolved then there will be increased bleeding.