Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a hemoglobinopathy that is considered a relatively rare disease in the United States, affecting about 90,000-100,000 individuals.

Globally, SCD affects millions, primarily in West and Central Africa.

 

Acute presentations of SCD include:

• Acute Pain (Sickle Cell or Vaso-occlusive) Crisis
  • Most common presentation in emergency departments
• Severe Anemia
  • Splenic sequestration crisis
  • Aplastic crisis
  • Hemolytic crisis
• Infections
  • Particularly from encapsulated organisms because of a damaged spleen (functional asplenia)
• Acute Chest Syndrome
  • From damaged lung tissues leading to hypoxia
  • A leading cause of death for patients SCD
• Stroke
• Priapism
• Other organ dysfunction including kidney failure and eye problems (retinopathy)

The bottom line: 

• Sickle Cell Disease is a serious, painful and potentially life threatening disease that can cause major damage to multiple organ systems.

References

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/signs

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/205926-clinical