Acute painful crisis in adults with sickle cell disease
What you need to knowPain in people of Asian, African, Caribbean, Latin American, or Middle Eastern ancestry could be related to acute painful crisis of sickle cell diseaseThe back and trunk are commonly affected and pain may then radiate to the limbsCrises are often severe, and require strong analgesia for symptom reliefConsider the complication of acute chest syndrome in patients with fever and respiratory signs and symptomsA 54 year old woman with sickle cell disease presents to the emergency department with severe back and chest pain after swimming in the sea. On examination, she is tachycardic and afebrile, and has no other clinical signs apart from pallor of the mucous membranes. She has had similar episodes of pain previously which have responded to oral analgesia and hydration at home but these interventions have been ineffective on this occasion. What is the next stage of acute management and what advice would…
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