SICKLE CELL ANEMIA

Course overview

SICKLE CELL ANEMIA IS AN INHERITED DISORDER OF THE GLOBIN CHAINS THAT CAUSES HEMOLYSIS AND CHRONIC ORGAN DAMAGE. SICKLE CELL ANEMIA IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF SICKLE CELL DISEASE (SCD), WITH A LIFELONG AFFLICTION OF HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA REQUIRING BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, PAIN CRISES, AND ORGAN DAMAGE. SINCE THE FIRST DESCRIPTION OF THE IRREGULAR SICKLE-SHAPED RED BLOOD CELLS (RBC) MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO, OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISEASE HAS EVOLVED TREMENDOUSLY. RECENT ADVANCES IN THE FIELD, MORE SO WITHIN THE LAST THREE DECADES, HAVE ALLEVIATED SYMPTOMS FOR COUNTLESS PATIENTS, ESPECIALLY IN HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, PRESENTATION, COMPLICATIONS, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF SICKLE CELL ANEMIA AND ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE PATIENTS.