Table 2.
Associations between palpable splenomegaly and baseline clinical and laboratory parameters
| Palpable splenomegaly | None | 1.0–4.9 cm | 5.0–9.9 cm | ≥10 cm | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 148 | 16 | 28 | 4 | |
| Demographics | |||||
| Age at enrollment, mean±SD, years | 6.9±3.5 | 5.7±3.2 | 6.6±3.5 | 7.3±3.7 | 0.559 |
| Male, N (%) | 71 (48) | 7 (44) | 12 (43) | 3 (75) | |
| Female, N (%) | 77 (52) | 9 (56) | 16 (57) | 1 (25) | 0.701 |
| Baseline examination, mean±SD | |||||
| Height, cm | 112.5±18.5 | 105.3±19.2 | 109.5±18.0 | 116.0±10.8 | 0.438 |
| Weight, kg | 18.9±6.7 | 16.8±6.7 | 17.9±6.2 | 19.6±7.7 | 0.589 |
| O2 saturation, % | 93.0±4.5 | 93.3±3.3 | 95.4±3.3 | 96.0±2.9 | 0.029 |
| Medical history, N (%) | |||||
| Painful event | 135 (93) | 16 (100) | 27 (100) | 4 (100) | 0.423 |
| Dactylitis | 114 (78) | 11 (69) | 23 (82) | 2 (50) | 0.357 |
| Malaria | 132 (91) | 14 (88) | 25 (93) | 2 (50) | 0.094 |
| Acute chest syndrome | 51 (35) | 4 (25) | 14 (50) | 1 (25) | 0.350 |
| Splenic sequestration | 39 (31) | 4 (40) | 21 (84) | 4 (100) | <0.001 |
| Previous stroke | |||||
| Bacteremia/sepsis | 55 (43) | 4 (33) | 13 (54) | 1 (33) | 0.640 |
| Transfusion | 98 (66) | 9 (56) | 24 (86) | 4 (100) | 0.060 |
| Hydroxyurea use | 4 (3) | 1 (6) | 2 (7) | 0.341 | |
| Lifetime hospitalizations, N (%) | |||||
| ≤5 hospitalizations | 104 (70) | 13 (81) | 17 (61) | 1 (25) | 0.019 |
| 6–10 hospitalizations | 24 (16) | 1 (6) | 4 (14) | 1 (25) | |
| >10 hospitalizations | 20 (14) | 2 (13) | 7 (25) | 2 (50) | |
| Laboratory parameters, mean±SD | |||||
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 7.8±1.1 | 7.8±0.7 | 7.3±1.2 | 5.4±0.8 | <0.001 |
| MCV, fL | 79.5±10.2 | 78.1±9.8 | 81.4±10.4 | 84.1±10.4 | 0.590 |
| Fetal hemoglobin, % | 9.2±5.4 | 11.7±5.8 | 8.6±5.0 | 10.4±5.9 | 0.280 |
| ARC, ×103/L | 537±223 | 734±250 | 599±282 | 760±349 | 0.005 |
| WBC, ×109/L | 14.1±4.4 | 15.1±3.9 | 16.8±9.1 | 10.7±5.7 | 0.046 |
| ANC, ×109/L | 5.4±2.3 | 6.2±2.3 | 6.1±2.2 | 5.0±3.6 | 0.266 |
| Platelets, ×109/L | 404±164 | 318±107 | 317±152 | 119±45 | <0.001 |
| ALT, U/L | 21±15 | 16±6 | 22±23 | 28±9 | 0.412 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 0.2±0.1 | 0.3±0.1 | 0.2±0.1 | 0.2±0.1 | 0.318 |
| Spleen volume, mL | |||||
| Mean±SD | 71.5±55.9 | 118.5±78.9 | 173.7±148.2 | 589.2±382.4 | <0.001 |
| Median | 57.7 | 97.8 | 110.5 | 540.6 | <0.001 |
| IQR (25%, 75%) | (35.7, 91.0) | (66.0, 137.1) | (83.7, 221.7) | (297.1, 832.6) | |
| TCD velocity, mean±SD | |||||
| TAMV, cm/s | 149±25 | 147±26 | 146±28 | 167±18 | 0.472 |