TITLE:
Acute Respiratory Distress and Major Sickle Cell Syndrome at the Albert Royer National Children’s Hospital in Dakar
AUTHORS:
Guillaye Diagne, Sadio Konate, Aminata Mbaye, Awa Kane, Ndeye Fatou Sow, Djénéba Fafa Cisse, Fatou Ly, Ousmane Ndiaye
KEYWORDS:
Acute Respiratory Distress, Major Sickle Cell Syndrome, Children, Senegal
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.15 No.6,
November
19,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Respiratory distress is a frequent reason for consultation in children with sickle cell disease and can lead to complications that can sometimes be life-threatening. In Senegal, there are few pediatric studies on respiratory distress in children with sickle cell disease. Our objective was to study the epidemiological, diagnostic, and evolutionary characteristics of acute respiratory distress in the context of major sickle cell syndrome. Methodology: This was a retrospective, descriptive study of sickle cell patients hospitalized in the Emergency Department and Pediatric Pulmonology and Intensive Care Unit of CHNEAR for respiratory distress between January 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022. All hospitalized patients with respiratory distress due to severe sickle cell disease whose medical records were available and usable were included. All incomplete records were excluded. The collected data were entered into Google Forms and analyzed using Excel 2019. Results: A total of 2828 patients were hospitalized, including 67 for respiratory distress in patients with severe sickle cell disease, representing a prevalence of 2.37%. The mean age of the patients was 9.5 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1.91. The genotypic profile was SS in all patients. The main reasons for consultation were fever (56.7%), chest pain (49.3%), cough (47.8%), and respiratory difficulties (35.8%). Among our patients, 82.09% presented with hypoxemia. Mild respiratory distress was found in 44.78%, moderate in 52.24%, and severe in 4.78%. Pulmonary consolidation syndrome was found in 56.72% of patients. Nasopharyngeal swabs were performed in 14.92% of cases, with two positive results isolating SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus. Chest X-rays were abnormal in 89.40% of cases. The main causes of respiratory distress were acute chest syndrome (ACS) in 61.19% of cases, pneumonia in 47.76%, and asthma attack in 10.45%. Severe acute anemia (7.46%) and decompensated heart disease (4.48%) were the two extra-respiratory causes. Antibiotic therapy was administered in 94.03% of cases. The outcome was favorable in 98.5% of cases. One death was due to cardiac arrest. The average length of hospital stay was 8 days. Conclusion: Respiratory distress can be life-threatening in children with sickle cell disease. Clinicians must be trained to manage any respiratory symptoms in sickle cell patients quickly and effectively to prevent the resulting consequences.