#1
Debilitating episode of pain associated with SCD, in which sickled red blood cells block blood vessels.
Symptoms include pain that can last hours to days in bones, chest, abdomen, and extremities.
HINT: Most common cause of hospital visits among people with SCD.
What is pain crises/blocked blood flow?
Sickle cell disease increases the risk that ____ ____ form in veins.
What are blood clots?
This complication is caused by increased red blood cells destruction, leading to yellowing of the skin and eyes.
What is jaundice?
This condition occurs when sickled red blood cells break apart faster than normal, leading to chronic low hemoglobin levels.
What is chronic hemolytic anemia?
This common complication occurs when sickled red blood cells block small blood vessels in the hands and feet of infants, causing painful swelling.
What is dactylitis(hand-foot syndrome)?
State of extreme, persistent exhaustion, weakness, or lack of energy that goes beyond normal tiredness and disrupts daily life.
What is fatigue?
Syndrome in which sickled cells block pulmonary vessels and cause fever, cough, chest pain, and low oxygen levels.
HINT: Leading cause of death in SCD
What is Acute Chest Syndrome(ACS)?
High blood pressure in lungs’ blood vessels, often occurring in adults with SCD.
What is pulmonary hypertension?
This chronic complication results from repeated kidney damage and may cause blood or protein in the urine.
What is sickle cell nephropathy?
This complication occurs when sickled red blood cells cause blockage in the liver, leading to right upper quadrant pain and elevated liver enzymes.
What is hepatic sequestration/sickle cell hepatopathy?
This male-specific complication of sickle cell disease is a prolonged, painful erection lasting more than 4 hours.
What is priaprasm?
Damage to tiny blood vessels in retina, which can lead to abnormal vessel growth, bleeding, or retinal detachment. Symptoms include blurry vision, floaters, and vision loss.
What is Retinoplasty/vision loss?
Sickled cells block blood flow, depriving cells of oxygen, and causing a _____.
HINT: Slurred speech, arm drift, facial droop
What is a stroke?
Repeated blood transfusions can cause excess ____ to build up in organs, damaging the liver, heart, or endocrine organs.
What is iron?
This complication may cause leg pain and poor healing due to chronic poor blood flow, especially near the ankles.
What are leg ulcers?
This complication develops from chronic anemia and increased cardiac workload, potentially leading to heart enlargement.
What is cardiomegaly/high-output heart failure?
This sudden enlargement of the spleen due to trapped red blood cells can cause rapid hemoglobin drop and shock in children.
What is splenic sequestration crisis?
SCD can chronically damage multiple _____ over time due or repeated blockages and low oxygen delivery.
What are organs?
Common blood condition characterized by reduced oxygen delivery to tissues. Symptoms include fatigue, pale skin, dizziness, and cold exteemities.
What is anemia?
A sudden stop in red blood cell production, often triggered by parvovirus B19 infection.
What is an Aplastic Crisis?
Chronic complication which usually developed over years and may require orthopaedic surgery. Symptoms include join pain, difficulty walking, and reduced range of motion.
What is Avascular Necrosis(bone tissue death)?
High levels of bilirubin from rapid red cell breakdown can form stones in the _________.
What is the gallbladder?
These issues are not physiological “complications” like organ damage, and are a result of living with a chronic painful condition.
Repeated injuries such as chronic infarction, scarring, and life-threatening enlargement due to SCD can cause loss of function of this organ.
HINT: loss of function = asplenia
What is spleen damage?
Harmful germs such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites enter the body, multiply, and trigger and immune response.
What is an infection?