Purpose: Chronic complications of sickle cell disease (SS) usually involve irreversible organ damage. Several genetic factors have been shown to have predicative value for chronic complications but these data are not always available. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of sociodemographic and clinicobiological features in predicting chronic complications.
Methods: This study included a total of 229 adult SS patients who underwent quarterly follow-up examinations for at least 10 years (range, 10 - 16). All sociodemographic and clinicobiological data were recorded. Screening for complications was performed at least once every three years. The risk of developing chronic complications was analyzed in function of patient follow-up data.
Results: Mean patient age was 28.6 years (range, 20 - 57) and sex ratio was 1.3. Prevalence of chronic complications was 34.9% (80/229). The most common complication was bone necrosis in 27 cases (11.7%) followed by gallstones in 24 (10.4%). The only sociodemographic factor with predictive value was patient age (p=0.0008). Multivariate analysis identified two clinicobiological factors with predictive value. History of transfusion was associated with a 3-fold higher risk while hemoglobin F level was associated with decreased risk.
Conclusion: In this study, age and low hemoglobin F level were the only predictive factors of chronic complications in SS patients.