INTRODUCTION Sickle cell patients commonly present to the emergency department (ED). Identifying those requiring admission and those who can safely be discharged is difficult. It was hypothesised that ED variables predictive of 96-h adverse sickle cell patient outcomes are identifiable. METHODS This observational cohort study included all adult sickle cell patient visits (1 June 2004-31 May 2...

background: the aim of the present study was application of haemoglobin absorption spectroscopy as a distinguishing tool for identification of two haemoglobin types-hba and hbs. material and methods: millimolar absorptivities of normal adult haemoglobin (hba) and sickle cell haemoglobin (hbs) were monitored at ph values of 7.2 and 5.0, within the ultra violet and visible spectral range (250-650...

Background: Sickle cell anemia is relatively common in Khuzestan province located in Southwest Iran. The characteristics of sickle cell disease in Iran are apparently different from other regions some of these characteristics might be related to β-chain haplotypes. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of β-chain haplotypes in 50 patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia in...

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is a major complication of sickle cell disease. The incidence and mortality of and risk factors for CVA in sickle cell disease patients in the United States have been reported only in small patient samples. The Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease collected clinical data on 4,082 sickle cell disease patients enrolled from 1978 to 1988. Patients were followed f...

Red cell exchange transfusions remain an effective but possibly underutilized therapy in the acute and chronic treatment of sickle cell disease. In sickle cell disease, increased blood viscosity can cause complications when the hemoglobin exceeds 10 g/dL even if this is due to simple transfusion. Red cell exchange can provide needed oxygen carrying capacity while reducing the overall viscosity ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the cause and outcome of high fever in Jamaican children with homozygous sickle cell disease. DESIGN Retrospective review of febrile episodes in a three year period (1 September 1993 to 31 August 1996). SETTING Sickle cell clinic, an outpatient clinic in Kingston run by the Medical Research Council Laboratories (Jamaica). PATIENTS Patients with homozygous sickle c...

Sickle cell trait occurs in approximately 300 million people worldwide, with the highest prevalence of approximately 30% to 40% in sub-Saharan Africa. Long considered a benign carrier state with relative protection against severe malaria, sickle cell trait occasionally can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Sickle cell trait is exclusively associated with rare but often fat...

Renal abnormalities in sickle cell disease. Sickle cell nephropathy is indicated by sickled erythrocytes, with the consequent effects of decreased medullary blood flow, ischemia, microinfarct and papillary necrosis. Impaired urinary concentrating ability, renal acidification, hematuria, and potassium secretion are also found. There may be a causal relationship between an increase in nitric oxid...