TITLE:
Acute Complications of Major Sickle Cell Syndromes in Libreville, Gabon: Clinical and Paraclinical Aspects
AUTHORS:
Raphael Okoue Ondo, Ghislain Edjo Nkilly, Stephane Oliveira, Elisabeth Makosso Toukoula, Vanessa Sagbo Ada, Arthur Matsanga, Arthur Ifoudji Makao, Jean Marcel Mandji Lawson, Adrien Sima Zue
KEYWORDS:
Major Sickle Cell Syndrome, Complications, Epidemiology
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Emergency Medicine,
Vol.14 No.1,
February
27,
2026
ABSTRACT: Objective: To establish the epidemiological profile of complications of major sickle cell syndrome in acute situations. Patients and Methods: This was a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter, one-year cohort study, including patients over the age of 3 years with major sickle cell syndrome presenting for an acute complication in major university hospitals. Their history, clinical, and paraclinical data were reviewed. Results: 67 patients were included, with a mean age of 19 years. The sex ratio was 1.23, with 36 men and 31 women. There was a clear predominance of the SS phenotype (87% of cases). In history, there was a clear predominance of VOC (77% of cases) and infections (malaria and pneumonia). Baseline hemoglobin was 7 g/dL. Usual analgesia included a combination of paracetamol and NSAIDs. Sixty-six percent of the included patients received no form of antimicrobial prophylaxis, and malaria prophylaxis was absent in 43% of cases. General signs were dominated by fever in 25% of patients. The main contributing factor was exposure to cold. Complications were dominated by VOC, decompensated by infection, in which malaria (53% of cases) and pneumonia (15% of these cases) were predominantly found. Conclusion: Acute complications of sickle cell syndromes affect young subjects with a history of SCD and infections. Prevention of these aggravating factors could significantly reduce the occurrence of these complications.