Deaths from Sickle Cell Disease in Intensive Care Units

In this issue of the journal, Dr. Qutaiba Tawfic and his colleagues report their experience with sickle cell disease patients (SCD) who were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, with various complications of sickle cell disease. They studied 49 patients who were admitted 56 times in the ICU between the years 2005 and 2009.1 This is an important study which has several points worthy of reflection. There is very little literature specifically discussing the subject of SCD patients who are admitted to an ICU for any SCD related complication. The literature typically deals with specific complications of SCD, like the acute chest syndrome (ACS), vaso-occlusive disorder and stroke in these patients, as well as their precipitating factors and their management