CRCM BSA AML REGULATORY
COMPLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT
ASSESSMENT EXAM SCRIPT FINAL REVIEW
GUIDE
●● Symptoms of decreased platelets
Answer: Patients present with increased bleeding, such unexplained or
easy bruising and nosebleeds, as platelets play an important role in blood
hemostasis
●● Symptoms of decreased WBCs
Answer: Patients are prone to infection due to decrease in immune cells
(granulocytes, monocytes, lymphocytes)
●● Symptoms of increased blasts
Answer: Patients may present with leukostasis, with WBC counts
causing increased blood viscosity and poor circulation, or blasts will
infiltrate the tissues leasing to tissue damage and risk of organ failure
●● Define leukostasis
Answer: Obstruction of blood vessels by excessive numbers of immature
WBCs, often seen in patients with leukemia
, ●● Name the five testing parameters for acute leukemia diagnosis
Answer: Clinical presentation, morphology, immunophenotyping,
cytogenetics, molecular studies
●● Morphology in acute leukemia
Answer: Patients have high concentrations of immature blast cells,
presence of auer rods
●● Define Auer rods
Answer: Needle-like cytoplasmic inclusion only observed in AML cells;
if the patient does not have auer rods, you must perform further testing
to differentiate between ALL and AML
●● Describe blast cells
Answer: Has an open nuclear chromatin, less intense staining of nuclear
material, sometimes visible nucleoli
●● Why are bone marrow studies performed in AML testing
Answer: Bone marrow is examined to determine presence of AML and
cell phenotype
●● Name the two types of bone marrow studies
Answer: Bone marrow aspirate, bone marrow biopsy
COMPLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT
ASSESSMENT EXAM SCRIPT FINAL REVIEW
GUIDE
●● Symptoms of decreased platelets
Answer: Patients present with increased bleeding, such unexplained or
easy bruising and nosebleeds, as platelets play an important role in blood
hemostasis
●● Symptoms of decreased WBCs
Answer: Patients are prone to infection due to decrease in immune cells
(granulocytes, monocytes, lymphocytes)
●● Symptoms of increased blasts
Answer: Patients may present with leukostasis, with WBC counts
causing increased blood viscosity and poor circulation, or blasts will
infiltrate the tissues leasing to tissue damage and risk of organ failure
●● Define leukostasis
Answer: Obstruction of blood vessels by excessive numbers of immature
WBCs, often seen in patients with leukemia
, ●● Name the five testing parameters for acute leukemia diagnosis
Answer: Clinical presentation, morphology, immunophenotyping,
cytogenetics, molecular studies
●● Morphology in acute leukemia
Answer: Patients have high concentrations of immature blast cells,
presence of auer rods
●● Define Auer rods
Answer: Needle-like cytoplasmic inclusion only observed in AML cells;
if the patient does not have auer rods, you must perform further testing
to differentiate between ALL and AML
●● Describe blast cells
Answer: Has an open nuclear chromatin, less intense staining of nuclear
material, sometimes visible nucleoli
●● Why are bone marrow studies performed in AML testing
Answer: Bone marrow is examined to determine presence of AML and
cell phenotype
●● Name the two types of bone marrow studies
Answer: Bone marrow aspirate, bone marrow biopsy
