Blood pressure in acute vaso-occlusive crises of sickle cell disease.
OBJECTIVE
We compared blood pressure (BP) in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD)-related crises and black patients without SCD.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed charts of emergency department (ED) patients with SCD crises in a 2-year period, recording BPs and demographic and SCD data. A cohort of consecutive black patients without SCD was compared.


RESULTS
Included were 459 SCD-related visits, 187 by men and 272 by women, representing 106 patients. Women had significantly lower BP than men, diastolic BP was significantly lower in patients with hemoglobin SS disease than in those with hemoglobin SC disease, and systolic BP was significantly lower in patients with bilateral versus unilateral pain. One SCD patient had a history of hypertension. The 125 non-SCD patients, excluding 25 with a history of hypertension, had significantly higher systolic and diastolic BP than patients in SCD crisis.


CONCLUSIONS
No patients seen in SCD crisis were hypertensive. Patients who were female, had SS disease, or had bilateral pain had lower BP. Significantly higher BP and more hypertension occurred in black patients without SCD.
Ernst
A A
AA
Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, USA.
Weiss
S J
SJ
Johnson
W D
WD
Takakuwa
K M
KM
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies