Author(s)

Hassan A. Al-Jafar^1*, Hussein A. Hayati², Hanaa AlKhawari³, Fatmah S. AlThallab⁴, Masouma Al-Ali⁵

¹Hematology Department, Amiri Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
²Hepatobiliary Surgery Department, Amiri Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
³Radiology Department, Amiri Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
⁴National Center for Kuwait Health Information, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
⁵Liver & Gastroenterology Department, Amiri Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disease affecting hemoglobin development. Complications may occur in all organs due to sickle cell hemoglobin. Gallstones may develop as the complication of the biliary system in SCD. Aim: To calculate the prevalence and severity of the biliary system complications in SCD. Method: A total of 220 patients with homozygous SCD were recruited. The prevalence of gallstones was estimated, and the severity of the biliary system complications was classified according to the condition of the gallstones; it was classified as grade 0 when no gallstones were detected, grade 1 when gallstones were present only in the gallbladder, grade 2 when gallstones were present in both the gallbladder and the common bile duct, and grade 3 when the patient had cholecystectomy due to gallstones. Results: The overall prevalence of gallstones and cholecystectomy was 51%; it was 22% in females and 29% in males. The prevalence of the severity of grade 0 was 49%, grade 1 was 14%, and grade 3 was 37%. Grade 2 prevalence was not calculated because this study was based on abdominal ultrasound only. Conclusion: The prevalence of gallstones in SCD is much higher than in the normal population, and more in males than in females. It begins at an early age during childhood due to several underlying etiological factors related to SCD. This study provided a simple grading of severity for the biliary system based on the gallbladder stone complication. The severity calculation in the biliary system is a part of the assessment of the severity in other systems in this multisystem chronic disorder.

Sickle Cell Disease, Gallbladder, Stone, Severity

Al-Jafar, H. , Hayati, H. , AlKhawari, H. , AlThallab, F. and Al-Ali, M. (2020) The Prevalence and Severity of Gallstones in Sickle Cell Disease in Kuwait. Open Journal of Epidemiology, 10, 346-354. doi: 10.4236/ojepi.2020.104028.