Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle cell anemia)
Would you like to know what lab results mean? DDxHub - Differential Diagnosis Hub helps to understand and explains your blood test.
Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle cell anemia) |
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Would you like to know what lab results mean? DDxHub - Differential Diagnosis Hub helps to understand and explains your blood test. |
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You have symptoms and blood work results. How do they correlate? What is the health condition? Some disorders have similar signs and laboratory values. DDxHub helps to define a right diagnosis. Run DDxHub now and enter symptoms and test results. |
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All information on this page is intended for your general knowledge only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See Additional Information |
Sickle cell anemia is the most common form of sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD is a serious disorder in which the body makes sickle-shaped red blood cells. 'Sickle-shaped' means that the red blood cells are shaped like a crescent. Normal red blood cells are disc-shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. They move easily through your blood vessels. Red blood cells contain an iron-rich protein called hemoglobin. This protein carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Sickle cells contain abnormal hemoglobin called sickle hemoglobin or hemoglobin S. Sickle hemoglobin causes the cells to develop a sickle, or crescent, shape. Sickle cells are stiff and sticky. They tend to block blood flow in the blood vessels of the limbs and organs. Blocked blood flow can cause pain and organ damage. It can also raise the risk for infection. The characteristic crescent-shaped or sickle cell hemoglobin can disrupt blood flow and break, and is associated with varying degrees of anemia. There is a predisposition for obstruction of small blood capillaries causing painful crises, damage to major organs, and increased vulnerability to severe infections. Associated with lifelong morbidity and reduced life expectancy. All infants are screened, with findings confirmed by hemoglobin electrophoresis, a complete blood count, reticulocyte count, and peripheral blood smear. Treatment goals include fluid replacement therapy, pain management, and symptom control.
