Management of Sickle Cell Pain

Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders, named for the C-shaped “sickle” appearance of a patient’s red blood cells. SCD affects millions of people throughout the world and is particularly common among those whose ancestors came from Sub-Saharan Africa, Spanish-speaking regions in the Western Hemisphere, Saudi Arabia, India, and Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy. Approximately 100,000 people in the US suffer from SCD, where SCD appears in one of 365 African-American births. When the sickle-shaped cells travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow, causing pain which can be a first indicator of other serious problems such as infection, acute chest syndrome, and stroke.

Managing acute and chronic pain and understanding how pain relates to the disease and its related health problems is consequently an important but thorny concern for pain physicians, hematologists, pediatricians, and primary care clinicians. The sixth volume in the "What Do I Do Now? Pain Medicine" series, Sickle Cell Pain Management provides 26 case-based, clinically useful chapters with guidance for managing acute and chronic pain in pediatric and adult sickle cell patients.