expertwitness.substack.com/p/fast-scan-lawsuit-trauma
1 correction found
The problem is that acute bleeding does not cause anemia.
Acute bleeding (acute hemorrhage) is a recognized cause of acute anemia. While hemoglobin/hematocrit can be normal immediately after sudden blood loss, that does not mean acute bleeding “does not cause anemia.”
Full reasoning
The post makes an absolute medical claim: “acute bleeding does not cause anemia.” That is not correct.
- Acute hemorrhage is a standard, well-recognized cause of acute anemia. Medical references explicitly define acute anemia as a rapid drop in red blood cell mass/hemoglobin, commonly caused by acute hemorrhage (blood loss).
- What is true (and likely what the author intended) is a narrower point: immediately after acute blood loss, the hemoglobin/hematocrit measurement may appear normal because both plasma and red cells are lost together; the measured concentration often falls later after plasma volume is restored (e.g., via physiologic fluid shifts or IV fluids). But that is different from saying acute bleeding does not cause anemia.
So the claim is incorrect because it conflates a common lab-timing phenomenon (initially normal Hgb/Hct) with the broader physiological/clinical fact that acute bleeding can and does cause anemia (acute blood loss anemia).
2 sources
- Acute Anemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
“Acute anemia: A sudden and rapid decrease in RBCs defines acute anemia, typically caused by hemolysis or acute hemorrhage… In cases of acute hemorrhage, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels may initially appear normal because both RBCs and plasma are lost concomitantly.”
- Anemia - Clinical Methods - NCBI Bookshelf
Under “Blood Loss”: “Obviously, significant hemorrhage will produce anemia. Immediately after blood loss, the hematocrit cannot be used… After acute hemorrhage, the hematocrit will fall for several days until the plasma volume is replaced.”