Acute chest syndrome

The acute chest syndrome is a vaso-occlusive crisis of the pulmonary vasculature commonly seen in people with sickle cell anemia. This condition commonly manifests with a new opacification of the lung(s) on a chest x-ray. The acute chest syndrome is a vaso-occlusive crisis of the pulmonary vasculature commonly seen in people with sickle cell anemia. This condition commonly manifests with a new opacification of the lung(s) on a chest x-ray. The crisis is a common complication in sickle-cell patients and can be associated with one or more symptoms including fever, cough, excruciating pain, sputum production, shortness of breath, or low oxygen levels. Acute chest syndrome is often precipitated by a lung infection, and the resulting inflammation and loss of oxygen saturation leads to further sickling of red cells, thus exacerbating pulmonary and systemic hypoxemia, sickling, and vaso-occlusion.