[Acute psychosis in a patient with a combination of sickle cell disease and hemoglobin-C disease].
A 35-year-old negroid patient, known to have sickle cell-haemoglobin C disease, after heavy exercise developed an acute thrombotic crisis localised mainly in the brain. The clinical manifestations were those of an acute psychosis with severe confusion, aggressiveness, unco-operative behaviour and incontinence for faeces and urine. With adequate therapy he recovered after a few days. This so-called cerebral sickle cell crisis, confirmed by multiple small encephalomalacia lesions on the MRI which are typical of this disease, is a rare complication and difficult to diagnose.
Statius van Eps
L W
LW
Afd. Interne Geneeskunde, Slotervaartziekenhuis, Amsterdam.
van der Sande
J J
JJ
Valk
J
J
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D006445:Hemoglobin C Disease / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology