Diagnosing Hemophilia

Diagnosing hemophilia usually involves a review of the patient's personal and family medical history, a physical examination, and blood tests. Once a doctor has reached a diagnosis of hemophilia, he or she will often classify the severity of the bleeding disorder as mild, moderate, or severe based on how much clotting factor is in the blood. When diagnosing hemophilia, it's important to determine whether a person has hemophilia A or hemophilia B.

 

Diagnosing Hemophilia: An Introduction

A doctor diagnosing hemophilia will usually:
 
  • Review the patient's personal and family medical history
  • Perform a physical examination
  • Order blood tests.
 

Diagnosing Hemophilia: Blood Tests

Blood tests are used to determine:
 
  • How long it takes blood to clot
  • Whether the patient's blood has low levels of any of the clotting factors
  • Whether one of the factors is completely missing from the person's blood.
 
The test results will show:
 
  • Whether the person has hemophilia
  • What type of hemophilia he or she has
  • How severe the hemophilia is.
 

Diagnosing Hemophilia: Severity Classification

 Hemophilia A and B are classified as mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the amount of clotting factor 8 (VIII) or 9 (IX) in the blood.
 
Mild hemophilia
5-30% of normal
Moderate hemophilia                  
1-5% of normal
Severe hemophilia
less than 1% of normal
 
Severe hemophilia can cause serious bleeding problems in babies. Therefore, children with severe hemophilia are usually diagnosed during their first year of life. People with milder forms of the disease may not be diagnosed until they are adults.
 
(Diagnosing Hemophilia Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD