G6PD deficiency peripheral smear findings include which of the following?

G6PD deficiency peripheral smear findings include which of the following?

• A. Spherocytes
• B. Bite cells and Heinz bodies
• C. Target cells
• D. Auer rods

Answer: (B)

G6PD deficiency makes red blood cells vulnerable to oxidative stress, so during infections or exposure to certain drugs or foods, hemolysis occurs. On a peripheral smear, the classic finding is the presence of bite cells and Heinz bodies. Heinz bodies are clumps of denatured hemoglobin that can be seen with supravital stains. The spleen’s macrophages remove these Heinz bodies from red cells, creating bite cells—red cells with a characteristic “bite” taken out of them. This combination is characteristic of G6PD-related hemolysis. Other options don’t fit as well: spherocytes come from membrane abnormalities or autoimmune hemolysis; target cells are seen in liver disease, thalassemias, or certain hemoglobinopathies; Auer rods are abnormal myeloid cell inclusions seen in acute myeloid leukemia, not in red cell smears.

G6PD deficiency makes red blood cells vulnerable to oxidative stress, so during infections or exposure to certain drugs or foods, hemolysis occurs. On a peripheral smear, the classic finding is the presence of bite cells and Heinz bodies. Heinz bodies are clumps of denatured hemoglobin that can be seen with supravital stains. The spleen’s macrophages remove these Heinz bodies from red cells, creating bite cells—red cells with a characteristic “bite” taken out of them. This combination is characteristic of G6PD-related hemolysis.

Other options don’t fit as well: spherocytes come from membrane abnormalities or autoimmune hemolysis; target cells are seen in liver disease, thalassemias, or certain hemoglobinopathies; Auer rods are abnormal myeloid cell inclusions seen in acute myeloid leukemia, not in red cell smears.