What laboratory finding should be expected in a patient with hemolytic anemia?

In hemolytic anemia, the body is actively destroying red blood cells at an accelerated rate. As a compensatory response to the increased destruction, the bone marrow ramps up the production of new red blood cells, resulting in an elevated reticulocyte count. Reticulocytes are immature red blood cells that indicate the bone marrow is responding to a demand for more red blood cells due to the ongoing hemolysis.

In contrast, patients with hemolytic anemia typically do not present with elevated red blood cell counts, as the destruction outpaces production. Normal bilirubin levels can also be misleading, as hemolysis generally leads to increased bilirubin due to the breakdown of hemoglobin, which is released from the lysed red blood cells. Decreased hemoglobin levels are common in hemolytic anemia, but they do not reflect the bone marrow's response to the condition as effectively as the reticulocyte count does. Therefore, an elevated reticulocyte count is the key laboratory finding directly indicative of the body’s response to hemolytic anemia.