Sickle cell disease in pregnancy

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited single-gene autosomal recessive disorder, triggered by the ‘sickle’ gene, which alters the structure of the haemoglobin molecule. SCD includes sickle cell anaemia (HbSS), heterozygous conditions of haemoglobin S, combination with haemoglobin C (giving HbSC), combination with beta thalassaemia (HbSB thalassaemia), and combination with haemoglobin D, E or O-Arab. All these variants give similar clinical phenotypes of varying severity. In the UK, there are between 12,000 and 15,000 affected individuals, with approximately 110–200 pregnancies in women with SCD per year.
Source: Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine - Category: OBGYN Authors: Tags: Case-based learning Source Type: research