The vaso-occlusive pain crisis in sickle cell disease: Definition, pathophysiology, and management.

Authors

Deepika S. Darbari, Children's National Medical Center
Vivien A. Sheehan, Baylor College of Medicine
Samir K. Ballas, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2020

Comments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:

which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ejh.13430. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Abstract

Early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of a vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) are critical to the management of patients with sickle cell disease. It is essential to differentiate between VOC-associated pain and chronic pain, hyperalgesia, neuropathy, and neuropathic pain. The pathophysiology of VOCs includes polymerization of abnormal sickle hemoglobin, inflammation, and adhesion. Hydroxyurea, L-glutamine, crizanlizumab, and voxelotor have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for reducing the frequency of VOCs; the European Medicines Agency has approved only hydroxyurea. Other novel treatments are in late-stage clinical development in both the United States and the European Union. The development of agents for prevention and treatment of VOCs should be driven by our understanding of its pathophysiology.

Recommended Citation

Darbari, Deepika S.; Sheehan, Vivien A.; and Ballas, Samir K., "The vaso-occlusive pain crisis in sickle cell disease: Definition, pathophysiology, and management." (2020). Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research. Paper 64.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/cardeza_foundation/64

Language

English