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. 2015 Oct;171(2):273-276.
doi: 10.1111/bjh.13553. Epub 2015 Jun 17.

Bacteraemia in sickle cell anaemia is associated with low haemoglobin: a report of 890 admissions to a tertiary hospital in Tanzania

Julie Makani  1   2 , Josephine Mgaya  1 , Emmanuel Balandya  1 , Khadija Msami  1 , Deogratias Soka  1 , Sharon E Cox  1   3 , Albert N Komba  1 , Stella Rwezaula  1   4 , Elineema Meda  1   4 , David Muturi  5 , Jesse Kitundu  4 , Gregory Fegan  2   5 , Fenella J Kirkham  6 , Charles R Newton  1   2   5 , Robert W Snow  2   5 , Brett Lowe  1   2   5
Affiliations

Bacteraemia in sickle cell anaemia is associated with low haemoglobin: a report of 890 admissions to a tertiary hospital in Tanzania

Julie Makani et al. Br J Haematol. 2015 Oct.

Abstract

Bacteraemia is a leading cause of morbidity in sickle cell anaemia (SCA), but information from studies in Africa is limited. We evaluated 890 admissions from 648 SCA patients at a tertiary hospital in Tanzania. Bacteraemia was present in 43 admissions (4·8%); isolates included Staphylococcus aureus (12/43; 28%), non-Typhi Salmonella (9/43; 21%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (3/43; 7%) and Salmonella Typhi (2/43; 5%). Compared to SCA patients without bacteraemia, SCA patients with bacteraemia had significantly lower haemoglobin [71 g/l vs. 62 g/l, odds ratio 0·72 (95% confidence interval 0·56-0·91), P < 0·01]. Further exploration is needed of the relationship between anaemia and bacterial infections in SCA in Africa.

Keywords: Africa; admission; bacteraemia; haemoglobin; sickle cell anaemia.

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