Sickle Cell Disease: Management of Complications

Sickle cell disease (SCD) describes a family of molecular disorders in which patients inherit the hemoglobin S (HbS) mutation and a second beta-globin mutation that impairs normal hemoglobin production and causes clinical sickling. People with SCD have a dramatically increased risk of pain, lung disease, renal failure, bone necrosis, sepsis, stroke, and early death.