COVID-19 in Saudi Patients With Sickle Cell Disease: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study

Abstract

Background The prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) within Saudi Arabia is relatively high, with an estimated 145/10,000 cases. There is an urgent need for researching many aspects of the Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) due to the widespread of the virus among SCD patients in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study is to determine how COVID-19 affects SCD patients in order to reach the best strategy for their management protocols. Methods This is a retrospective chart review study from a multi-center in Saudi Arabia that evaluated a total of 33 patients with sickle cell anemia/disease who were confirmed to have COVID-19. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed by using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests based on the nasopharyngeal swabs of the included patients. Results The mean age of patients was 10.75+9.11 years, and nearly all patients (n= 32; 96.9%) were Saudi, and 48.4% of them were females. Twenty-two patients were admitted (59.5%); the main reasons for admission included vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) only (n= 6; 27.3%), fever (n= 6; 27.3%), acute chest syndrome (n= 5; 22.7%), and VOC combined with other conditions (n= 4; 18.2%). During hospitalization, 54.1% of the patients received at least one medication, while antibiotics (54.1%), analgesia (32.4%), anticoagulants (16.2%), and steroids (16.2%) were the most commonly administered drugs. The mean length of hospitalization was 7.6±4.5 days, with only one patient (2.7%) requiring intensive care unit admission and assisted ventilation. Conclusion The overall prognosis was good since only one patient has passed away, while all others recovered and, subsequently, were discharged. Manifestations, laboratory investigations, and management modalities should be utilized promptly to enhance the prognosis and obtain better outcomes.

COVID-19 outcomes in sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait

“…However, whether patients with SCD are at greater risk for serious COVID-19 illness including ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and death is uncertain. Early in the pandemic, there were a number of published case series of patients with SCD and COVID-19 that revealed that most adult patients with SCD had mild to moderate disease courses [ [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] ]. And one study concluded that although patients with SCD and COVID-19 visited the emergency department and were hospitalized more frequently than the general population, that SCD status did not carry an added risk of COVID-19 related severe illness or death compared to a population with similar demographics and comorbidities [ 10 ].…”