Sickle Cell Anemia: Recurrent Splenic Pain Relieved by Splenectomy
Authors: OSCAR F. BALLESTER
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1979)

Brief Reports1 March 1979Sickle Cell Anemia: Recurrent Splenic Pain Relieved by SplenectomyOSCAR F. BALLESTER, M.D., JAMES WARTH, M.D.OSCAR F. BALLESTER, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, JAMES WARTH, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-90-3-349 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptSplenomegaly is an uncommon finding in adults with homozygous sickle cell disease. Henderson (1) reported palpable spleens in three adults in a series of 54 patients with sickle cell anemia. Watson, Lichtman, and Shapiro (2) found splenomegaly in 33% of patients with sickle cell disease in the first decade of life and in 10% of those older. Most of these early studies did not conclusively rule out double heterozygous states (Hb SC, Hb S-thalassemia, and so forth), which have been reported to have a higher incidence of splenomegaly. In 1970, Serjeant (3) correlated the persistence of splenomegaly in adults with...References1. HENDERSON A: Sickle cell anemia. Am J Med 9:757-765, 1950 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. WATSON R, LICHTMAN H, and SHAPIRO H: Splenomegaly in sickle cell anemia. Am J Med 20:196-206, 1956 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. SERJEANT G: Irreversibly sickled cells and splenomegaly in sickle cell anemia. Brit J Haematol 19:635-641, 1970 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. SERJEANT G, RICHARDS R, BARBOR P, and MILNER P: Relatively benign sickle cell anemia in 60 patients over age 30 in the West Indies. Brit Med J 3:86-91, 1968 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. O'BRIEN R, PEARSON H, GODLEY J, and SPENCER R: Splenic infarct in sickle (cell) trait. N Engl J Med 287:720-721, 1972 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. KING D, LINDSTROM R, STATE D, HIROSE F, and SCHWARTZ A: Unusual case of acute abdomen. JAMA 238:2173-2174, 1977 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. SEELER R and SHWIAKI M: Acute splenic sequestration crisis (ASSC) in young children with sickle cell anemia. Clin Ped 11:701-704, 1972 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. HAHN E and GILLESPIE E: Sickle cell anemia: report of a case greatly improved by splenectomy. Arch Intern Med 39:233, 1927 CrossrefGoogle Scholar9. SHOTTON D, CROCKETT C, and LEAVELL B: Splenectomy in sickle cell anemia: report of a case and review of the literature. Blood 6:365-371, 1951 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. STEVENSON A: Splenectomy in sickle cell anemia. Arch Intern Med 125:883-884, 1970 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: OSCAR F. BALLESTER, M.D.; JAMES WARTH, M.D.Affiliations: Harper-Grace Hospital Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited bySplenomegaly and Splenic Sequestration in an Adult With Sickle Cell AnemiaSplenomegaly and Splenic Sequestration in an Adult With Sickle Cell AnemiaSplenectomy in Sickle-Cell DiseasePETER W. WILSON, M.D., WILLIAM R. BERRY, M.D., WENDELL F. ROSSE, M.D. 1 March 1979Volume 90, Issue 3Page: 349-350KeywordsAnemiaHemoglobinMedical staffSickle cell diseaseSpleenSplenectomySplenomegaly ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 March 1979 PDF downloadLoading ...