Emergency care necessity for sickle cell disease patients at Rio de Janeiro State Coordinating Blood Bank

Abstract

Hemoglobinopathies, in particular sickle cell disease, is the most prevalent group of genetically transmitted diseases in the Brazilian population and should thus be treated as a public health problem. Many of these patients frequently present with complications and require emergency care at the blood bank Coordinator in Rio de Janeiro. This study was developed with the aim of characterizing the emergency assistance required by sickle cell disease patients registered in the blood bank from January 2007 to December 2008. A retrospective study of medical records was made of 78, mostly children, patients from the date of their registration until December 2009. Most attendances (63.7%) were not considered emergency care. The use of specialized services for cases that do not require this level of complexity may saturate the capacity of these centers. However, delay of intervention for complications due to the transportation of patients to specialist centers may lead to deterioration in the clinical condition.

Sickle cell disease: looking back but towards the future

“…This also emphasizes the need for concrete measures with the objective of decentralizing healthcare to safeguard medium- and high-complexity specialized centers as referral units for urgency and emergency care ( 14 , 15 ) .…”

Situs Inversus Totalis and Sickle Cell Anemia: Case Report and Review of Literature

“…The pathophysiology of the disease is summarized in the HbS intolerance to hypoxia, a situation that causes the sickling of red blood cells. After this transformation, red blood cells become inflexible, undergoing hemolysis and may cause anemia or even the obstruction of smaller blood vessels and organ damage [5,7,8].…”

Comprehensive healthcare for individuals with sickle cell disease

“…The study by Santoro et al, (12) published in this issue, points out some of the weaknesses in the methodology applied, which are inherent to a retrospective study, but it certainly has the merit of portraying how SCD patients are being cared for in the State of Rio de Janeiro. This study confirms the precariousness and vulnerability of care for these patients in state health clinics and the overuse of specialized services for clinical situations of low complexity.…”