Sickle Cell Dx

Question 1

What are characteristics of a sickle cell

Answer 1

Sickle-shaped
rigid
blocks vascular flow
10-20 day lifespan

Question 2

Why do they do prophylactic penicillin

Answer 2

sickle cell disease degrades splenic function and this allows encapsulated bacteria to infect pt

Question 3

what does hydroxyurea do in sickle cell pts

Answer 3

Reduce pain
reduce hospital admissions
reduce need for transfused blood
raised hemoglobin

Question 4

What does treating cellular modulation in sickle cell pts do

Answer 4

prevent dehydration

Question 5

What does treating extra-cellular modulation in sickle cell pts do

Answer 5

dilate vessels
alter adhesion
decrease coagulation
increase arginine

Question 6

What are common testing for pulmonary HTN with sickle cell pts

Answer 6

Transcranial Doppler screening

Screen at 10 yrs

Question 7

What is leading cause of death in sickle cell pts

Answer 7

Pulmonary HTN

doppler echocardiography
TRV > 2.5 m/sec