Splenic Crisis at High Altitude in 2 White Men With Sickle Cell Trait, ,

This article describes 2 white male patients with probable splenic crisis caused by sickle cell trait after travel from sea level to a moderately high altitude. Both did well with return to lower altitude and conservative treatment. Although rare, this entity should be considered in patients presenting to the emergency department with left-sided chest or abdominal pain after travel to moderate or high altitude. [Tiernan CJ: Splenic crisis at high altitude in 2 white men with sickle cell trait. Ann Emerg Med February 1999;33:230-233.]