Table 1.

Complications of sickle cell disease

Acute	Chronic
Painful crisis	Pulmonary hypertension and heart failure
Chest crisis	Renal failure
Splenic sequestration crisisa	Liver failure
Aplastic crisisb	Cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular eventc	Avascular necrosis of the hip
Priapism	Osteomyelitis
Dactylitis	Leg ulcers
Acute thrombotic event	Gallstones
	Retinopathy
	Chronic pain
	Impact on education/learning opportunities

^aTypically only occurs in the under 5-year-olds with haemoglobin SS disease;

^bAssociated with parvovirus B19;

^cPatients with sickle cell disease are predisposed to both ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke; ischaemic stroke associated with sickle cell disease is treated with exchange transfusion rather than typical stroke management.