Background: Worldwide, the prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) as of 2016 was estimated at 2%; that is 300,000 births annually. This study was focused on homozygous sickle cell disease which leads to several complications notably hemolytic crises, aplastic crises and vaso-occlusive crises like stroke. Sickle cell disease is the most common cause of childhood stroke. Stroke occurs in 17% -24% of sickle cell children worldwide. Objectives: To determine the risk factors for overt stroke and outcome at discharge in sickle cell disease patients admitted in two reference hospitals in Cameroon. Method: This was a case-control study in two reference hospitals in Yaounde and Douala, carried out over the duration of 4 months, covering a 5-year period (December 2013 to December 2018). Included in the study, were all homozygous sickle cell children aged 6 months to 16 years during that period with or without stroke. A total of 1734 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Out of these, 49 stroke patients participated and 687 were selected as controls. Data was collected from the patients' files and books on a pretested data collection form, then entered in the software C.S Pro 7.1 before analysis. Stroke outcome at discharge was assessed using the modified Rankin scale (mRs) with structured interview. A patient was classified as good outcome if mRs < 3 and poor outcome if mRs ≥ 3. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS software version 22.
Introduction: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the most prevalent genetic disease in the world predominantly in the African population with Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) being its dominant form. One of the most frequent complications of SCD is osteomyelitis. SCA is due to a point mutation in the beta globin chain of haemoglobin. This is responsible for the sickled shape of RBCs under low oxygen tension conditions leading to obstruction in the microcirculation. This leads to vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) which has a similar clinical presentation to that of osteomyelitis, another complication of SCD. Case Presentation: We present the case of a three-year-old girl with SCA who presented with an inability to bear weight in a febrile context. A diagnosis of VOC was initially made, which was later on changed to both a left chronic tibial and right distal femoral osteomyelitis following a series of biological, and imaging investigations. Surgical debridement and drainage were performed, resulting 9 weeks later in the involution of fever and leg pain. Conclusion: Osteomyelitis when associated with SCD is a dreadful and deathly disease in low income countries as it also presents like VOC therefore higher suspicion index is recommended. It is therefore important to take this into consideration at an early stage in patients with homozygous sickle cell disease so as to rapidly
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.