Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2004 May-Jun;24(3):179-82.
doi: 10.5144/0256-4947.2004.179.

Differences between males and females in adult sickle cell pain crisis in eastern Saudi Arabia

Emmanuel Udezue  1 , Abdel Moneim Girshab
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Differences between males and females in adult sickle cell pain crisis in eastern Saudi Arabia

Emmanuel Udezue et al. Ann Saudi Med. 2004 May-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is highly prevalent in the Al-Hasa area of eastern Saudi Arabia. We analyzed our patient data to try and find an explanation for the unexpected observation that more males than females with SCD were transferred to the hospital after a stay in the stabilization unit.

Patients and methods: We compared differences between males and females in demographics, pattern of response to treatment for pain, and discharge records for SCD patients admitted to the stabilization unit during the years 2000 to 2002.

Results: Approximately 20% of patients were transferred to the hospital and the remainder were discharged home. Males were admitted more often to the stabilization unit for pain control. Males were also over-represented among those whose pain persisted for over 47 hours and needed hospitalization. Female patients were distributed more evenly over the age groups; there were fewer males in the older age groups.

Conclusion: These preliminary observations point to the need for further studies into gender differences in pain crisis in patients with SCD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of number of visits to the stabilization unit by sickle-cell disease patients by sex.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sickle-cell disease cases by age and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Serjeant GR. The Geography of sickle cell disease: opportunities for understanding its diversity. Ann Saudi Med. 1994;14(3):237–246. - PubMed
    1. Udezue E. A five year experience of a short stay observation unit in Saudi Arabia. Ann Saudi Med. 2003;23(1–2):72–75. - PubMed
    1. Udezue E, Girshab AM. Observations on the management of acute painful crises in adult sickle celldisease. Abstract. International Conference on Sickle Cell Disease: recent advances; 2003 Sept 15–18.Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Health;
    1. Platt OS, Brambilla DJ, Rosse WF, Milner PF, Castro O, Steinberg MH, Klug PP. Mortality in Sickle Cell Disease – Life Expectancy and Risk Factors for Early Death. N Eng J Med. 1994;330(23):1639–1644. - PubMed
    1. Murray N, May A. Painful crises in sickle cell disease - patients’ perspectives. BMJ. 1988;297:452–454. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types