Patient discussions
Patients who have had a splenectomy should receive prophylactic antibiotics for fever. No precautions are necessary for those treated with corticosteroids or rituximab, although patients with diabetes require closer monitoring of blood glucose levels.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency patients should avoid triggers of hemolysis, which may include naphthalene, fava beans, sulfonamides, nitrofurantoin, salicylates, nitrites, dapsone, ribavirin, phenazopyridine, or paraquat. Patients who have had other drug-related types of hemolysis should also avoid repeat exposure to the triggering medication.
Family members of patients with inherited forms of hemolysis should be tested for the disorder if they are found to be anemic.
Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis should be considered in patients with marked hemolysis and risk factors (e.g., prior thrombosis).[38]
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