Summary
Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) complications namely stroke, osteomyelitis, retinopathy,
pulmonary embolism, renal failure, chronic leg ulcers, cholelithiasis, acute chest syndrome,
avascular necrosis (AVN) of the head of femur, and others, affect virtually all systems of the
body. The prevalence and pattern of the complications of this disorder in south-south Nigeria
had not been documented. The objective of the study was to detect and analyze frequency of
occurrence of the different types of complications seen in adult SCA patients in south-south
geopolitical region of Nigeria and to explore the determinants for the development of
complications in adult SCA patients. A retrospective review of the medical records of one
hundred and twenty-five (J 25) SCA patients above the age of fifteen years who attended the
Haematology clinic of a tertiary hospital in south-south Nigeria from January 2010 to
December 2010 was carried out Information on biodata, complications and the stable
haemoglobin levels were extracted and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social
Science (SPSS) version 15. Out of 1080SCApatients seen over theperiod of study, 125 (11.6%)
had complications. Complications werefound to be more common in females 71.2% (n=89)
compared to 28.8% (n=36)in males. The mean age of the studypopulation was30.9 ± 8.8 years
and the age range was 16 to 60years. The commonest complication noted in thesepatients was
chronic osteomyelitis (36.0%). This was followed by chronic renal failure (17.6%). The
frequencies of the other complications were as follows, chronic leg ulcers (11.2%),
cholelithiasis (11.2%), acute chest syndrome and avascular necrosis (AVN) of the head of
femur occurred equally (4.0%),pulmonary embolism (2.4%), stroke (2.4%), the least common
complication was seizure (1.6%). The most common complication of SCA patients in southsouth
Nigeria was chronic osteomyelitis. The pattern of complications was generally lower
than what was reported in other parts of the world. Some complications were not recorded;
examples werepulmonary hypertension and ocular complications. This mayprobably be as a
result of low index of suspicion and lack of adequatefacilities to make correct diagnosis.