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Review
. 2018 May 23;4(1):19.
doi: 10.1186/s40798-018-0131-6.

Sickle Cell Trait and Sudden Death

Bruce L Mitchell  1
Affiliations
Review

Sickle Cell Trait and Sudden Death

Bruce L Mitchell. Sports Med Open. .

Abstract

Sickle cell trait has long been considered a benign condition but continues to be the leading cause of death in young African Americans in military basic training and civilian organized sports. There continues to be a great deal of controversy surrounding sickle cell trait and its association with exercise-related morbidity and sudden death. Even though sickle cell trait has a high prevalence among African Americans, many clinicians believe the potential adverse consequences should have been mitigated by actions such as universal screening in the USA at birth for sickle hemoglobin, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule changes, and changes in the US Military boot camp system. Sudden death due to periods of extreme physical exertion continues to occur in individuals with sickle cell trait.

Keywords: Exertional; Rhabdomyolysis; Sickle cell trait; Sickling; Sudden death.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author’s Contribution

Bruce L. Mitchell, MD, is the sole author. The author read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

NA.

Competing Interests

The author, Bruce L. Mitchell, declares that he has no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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