Polycythemia: Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Congenital malformations, deformities, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99).

  • Polycystic kidney disease – kidney disease due to multiple cysts (fluid-filled cavities); some with autosomal dominant as well as autosomal recessive inheritance (see below Cystic kidney disease).

Respiratory system (J00-J99)

  • Chronic pulmonary disease, unspecified [secondary erythrocytosis due to arterial hypoxia/oxygen deficiency).

Blood, hematopoietic organs – immune system (D50-D90).

Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (E00-E90).

Cardiovascular system (I00-I99).

  • Known congenital heart conditions such as septal defects (structural damage to the heart wall, or holes in the septum), left-to-right shunt (disorder of the circulatory system in which oxygenated blood from the arterial limb of the circulatory system (e.g. E.g., from the left side of the heart) passes directly into the venous limb of the circulation (e.g., the right side of the heart)) [secondary erythrocytosis due to arterial hypoxia/oxygen deficiency).
  • Chronic left heart failure
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Renal artery stenosis (renal artery stenosis)

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48)

  • Wg. autonomous EPO (erythropoietin) production in tumors:
    • Hemangioblastoma (vascular tumor that can occur in the central nervous system but also in soft tissue).
    • Hepatoma (malignant (malignant) or benign (benign) adenomas / neoplasms of the liver).
    • Hepatocellular carcinoma
    • Renal cell carcinoma
    • Paraneoplastic syndromes, for example in ovarian cancer (ovarian cancer), cerebellar tumors, etc.
    • Pheochromocytoma (tumors of the adrenal medulla or sympathetic paraganglia).
  • Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) (formerly chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPE)):
    • Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) – leukemia associated with a severe proliferation of leukocytes (white blood cells), specifically granulocytes and their precursors, in the blood and in the hematopoietic bone marrow
    • Essential thrombocythemia (ET) – chronic myeloproliferative disorder (CMPE, CMPN) characterized by chronic elevation of platelets (thrombocytes).
  • Paraneoplastic syndrome, for example, in: Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer), cerebellar tumors, hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), ovarian carcinoma (ovarian cancer), pancreatic carcinoma (pancreatic cancer), etc.
  • Wilms tumor (nephroblastoma) – malignant neoplasm of the kidney, which occurs in childhood.

Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99).

Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – sex organs) (N00-N99).

  • Renal dysfunction, unspecified
  • Hydronephrosis (aqueous sac kidney; dilatation of the renal cavity system, leading to medium- and long-term destruction of renal tissue)
  • Renal artery stenosis (renal artery stenosis).

Medication

Further

  • Stay at high altitude
  • CO intoxication (heavy smokers)
  • Posttransplant erythroblastosis – increased occurrence of precursor red blood cells after organ transplantation.
  • Smoker’s polycythemia – exacerbated in heavy smokers by increased levels of carbon monoxide hemoglobin (COHb).
  • Severe exsiccosis (dehydration) – passive erythrocytosis with concomitant increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration.