Figure 1.

Levels of nucleosomes (A and B) and elastase-α1-antitrypsin complexes (C and D) in healthy controls and in sickle cell patients in steady state and during painful crisis. Results are shown for all patients (A and C) and for the subgroups containing HbSS/HbSβ⁰-thalassemia and HbSC/HbSβ⁺-thalassemia patients (B and D). The number of patients in each group is indicated above the x-axis. Patients who developed an acute chest syndrome during admission were among those with the highest nucleosome and EA levels. The corresponding levels are indicated in black. Results are indicated as median with interquartile range. Comparison of the groups was performed by means of Mann Whitney rank sum test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.