Crisis in Sickle Cell Disease: Review Article

Sickle cell disease is a very common inherited disorder of the hemoglobin. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Most affected are the people of African, Indian and Arabian origin. It occurs due to change in the single base pair gene wherein thymine replaces adenine in the 6th codon of the beta-globin gene. This result in the sickling shape of the red blood cells. Sickle cell disease includes a variety of phenotypes like the SS, AS, Sickle-thal, SC patterns, etc. Sickle cell- SS pattern also termed as sickle cell anemia is the most common of form of the disorder and is also responsible for the morbidity and mortality caused by the disorder. The sickling pattern of the red blood cells occludes the blood vessels and leads to a wide range of complication in the affected individuals. These complications can be seen in number of different systems of the body and also multiple systems at the same time. These complications are termed as crisis, which then include the vaso-occlusive crisis, acute chest syndrome, splenic sequestration crisis, etc. These crises can negatively affect the quality of life to a large effect, but are also largely controllable or rather delayed and effectively managed as far as possible with reduced effect in the normal well being. Hence the knowledge about these crisis and their treatment is an important aspect of medical practice, especially in the countries where this disorder is commonly seen. Here in this review article we aim to highlight the major crises seen in sickle cell disease and their treatment in brief.