Table 1.

Base line characteristics of the four cases treated using noninvasive positive pressure ventilation

Patient Characteristics	Case 1	Case 2	Case 3	Case 4
Age (years)	32	39	29	26
Age (years)	32	39	29	26
Reason for hospital admission	Fever + VOC	Dyspnea	VOC SOB	SOB, Palpitation
Reason for ICU admission	Pneumonia Respiratory distress	ACS	ACS	Hypoxia
APACHE II	29	27	29	24
Pregnancy (weeks)	28	32	29	32
Presence of previous	1	1	2	1
ACS attack
Was patient on hydroxyurea prior to hospital admission	Y	N	Y	N
Laboratory values on hospital admission: Hb level (g/dL)	9.9	10.6	11.3	9.6
Hct level(%)	39	33	42	31
WBC counts (× 10−6/Liter)	12.9	16.3	11.2	4.3
Platelets count (× 10−6/Liter)	150	78	126	66
LDH, IU/L	663	437	332	351
Hermoglobin S level on	36	43	31	52
ICU admission (%)
pO2/FiO2 ratio prior to NIPPV	195	176	102	198

SOB: Shortness of breath, VOC: Vasocclusive crisis, ACS: Acute chest syndrome, Y: Yes, N: No, LDH: Lactic dehydrogenase, NIPPV - NonInvasive positive pressure ventilation