Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1981 Mar 28;282(6269):1048–1051. doi: 10.1136/bmj.282.6269.1048

Admissions to hospital of children with sickle-cell anaemia: a study in south London.

L N Murtaza, C E Stroud, L R Davis, D J Cooper
PMCID: PMC1504887  PMID: 6783243

Abstract

Admissions to hospital of 171 children with sickle-cell anaemia, genotype Hb SS, were reviewed over a 20-year period. Altogether 887 admissions occurred in 797 patient-years. The commonest cause of admission was painful vaso-occlusive crisis. Appreciable morbidity also resulted from pulmonary disease, infection, and anaemic episodes. The complications resulting in the most severe illness were acute splenic sequestration, pneumococcal meningitis, and some episodes of erythroid hypoplasia resulting in very low haemoglobin concentrations. Most deaths occurred in children aged under 5. Mortality and morbidity could be reduced by measures including prophylaxis of pneumococcal infections and more active treatment of seemingly minor illness in children with sickle-cell anaemia.

Full text

PDF
1048

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barrett-Connor E. Bacterial infection and sickle cell anemia. An analysis of 250 infections in 166 patients and a review of the literature. Medicine (Baltimore) 1971 Mar;50(2):97–112. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barrett-Connor E. Pneumonia and pulmonary infarction in sickle cell anemia. JAMA. 1973 May 14;224(7):997–1000. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CHARNEY E., MILLER G. RETICULOCYTOPENIA IN SICKLE CELL DISEASE. APLASTIC EPISODES IN THE COURSE OF SICKLE CELL DISEASE IN CHILDREN. Am J Dis Child. 1964 May;107:450–455. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1964.02080060452004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cousins L., Karp W., Lacey C., Lucas W. E. Reproductive outcome of women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero. Obstet Gynecol. 1980 Jul;56(1):70–76. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cowan M. J., Ammann A. J., Wara D. W., Howie V. M., Schultz L., Doyle N., Kaplan M. Pneumococcal polysaccharide immunization in infants and children. Pediatrics. 1978 Nov;62(5):721–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GASSER C. Aplasia of erythropoiesis; acute and chronic erythroblastopenias or pure (red cell) aplastic anaemias in childhood. Pediatr Clin North Am. 1957 May;:445–468. doi: 10.1016/s0031-3955(16)30511-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Herbst A. L. DES-associated clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and cervix. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 1979 Nov;34(11):844–844. doi: 10.1097/00006254-197911000-00024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Johnston R. B., Jr, Newman S. L., Struth A. G. An abnormality of the alternate pathway of complement activation in sickle-cell disease. N Engl J Med. 1973 Apr 19;288(16):803–808. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197304192881601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Joubert J. D. Vasectomy. S Afr Med J. 1977 Nov 19;52(22):869–869. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kabins S. A., Lerner C. Fulminant pneumococcemia and sickle cell anemia. JAMA. 1970 Jan 19;211(3):467–471. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Konotey-Ahulu F. I. The sickle cell diseases. Clinical manifestations including the "sickle crisis". Arch Intern Med. 1974 Apr;133(4):611–619. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Monaghan J. M., Sirisena L. A. Stilboestrol and vaginal clear-cell adenocarcinoma syndrome. Br Med J. 1978 Jun 17;1(6127):1588–1590. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6127.1588. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ndugwa C. N. Observations of sickle cell anaemia in Uganda 1976. J Trop Pediatr Environ Child Health. 1978 Jun;24(3):152–154. doi: 10.1093/tropej/24.3.152. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Overturf G. D., Field R., Edmonds R. Death from type 6 pneumococcal septicemia in a vaccinated child with sickle-cell disease. N Engl J Med. 1979 Jan 18;300(3):143–143. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197901183000318. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Pearson H. A., Spencer R. P., Cornelius E. A. Functional asplenia in sickle-cell anemia. N Engl J Med. 1969 Oct 23;281(17):923–926. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196910232811703. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Powars D. R. Natural history of sickle cell disease--the first ten years. Semin Hematol. 1975 Jul;12(3):267–285. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Robinson M. G., Watson R. J. Pneumococcal meningitis in sickle-cell anemia. N Engl J Med. 1966 May 5;274(18):1006–1008. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196605052741806. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rogers D. W., Clarke J. M., Cupidore L., Ramlal A. M., Sparke B. R., Serjeant G. R. Early deaths in Jamaican children with sickle cell disease. Br Med J. 1978 Jun 10;1(6126):1515–1516. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6126.1515. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Seeler R. A. Deaths in children with sickle cell anemia. A clinical analysis of 19 fatal instances in Chicago. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 1972 Nov;11(11):634–637. doi: 10.1177/000992287201101111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Seeler R. A., Metzger W., Mufson M. A. Diplococcus pneumoniae infections in children with sickle cell anemia. Am J Dis Child. 1972 Jan;123(1):8–10. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1972.02110070058003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Seeler R. A., Shwiaki M. Z. Acute splenic sequestration crises (ASSC) in young children with sickle cell anemia. Clinical observations in 20 episodes in 14 children. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 1972 Dec;11(12):701–704. doi: 10.1177/000992287201101214. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Tetrault S. M., Scott R. B. Five-year retrospective study of hospitalization and treatment of patients with sickle cell anemia. South Med J. 1976 Oct;69(10):1314–1316. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Winkelstein J. A., Drachman R. H. Deficiency of pneumococcal serum opsonizing activity in sickle-cell disease. N Engl J Med. 1968 Aug 29;279(9):459–466. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196808292790904. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal (Clinical research ed.) are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES