Abstract

STUDY OF PREVALENCE OF GALL STONES IN PATIENTS WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE IN CHHATTISGARH POPULATION

Sushma B. J.* and Dr. Shrikant Chandrakar

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the major health problem in Chhattisgarh Population. Recent statistical data reveals the fact that, the prevalence of SCD among the screened population in Chhattisgarh is about 2.1% and sickle cell trait is 10% among the different tribes. Gall stones are common in sickle cell disease patients, since they are exposed to chronic ongoing hemolysis. Materials And Methods: We included the patients 3-50 years who were regularly attending the Sickle Cell Clinic for follow-ups at Dept. of Biochemistry, CIMS, Hospital. All the patients involved in the study were advised to come for Ultrasound Examination 3 days later after overnight fasting. Ultrasonography was performed by the Radiologist in the Dept. of Radiology, CIMS, Hospital. Results And Conclusion: The prevalence of gall stones in sickle cell disease (HbSS) subjects was found to be 35.6%. In adults, the prevalence was 37.5% and in children the prevalence was 26.6%. The prevalence of gall stones in sickle cell disease subjects increases with increase in age and duration of the disease. Gall stones are more common in the homozygous SCD compared to heterozygous cases. Since the prevalence found is high in our study, the Abdominal Ultrasound Examination and careful history regarding symptoms should be on routine basis in all subjects with sickle cell disease. Since gall stone disease is not often considered as a cause of acute abdominal pain in subjects with sickle cell disease, the diagnosis is often delayed. Therefore, our study suggests that gall stone disease should be considered early in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain in subjects with sickle cell disease and hence needs early intervention.

Keywords: Sickle Cell Disease, Homozygous, Heterozygous & Gall stones.