Pulmonary Function in Nigerian Children and Young Adults with Sickle Cell Anaemia.

Abstract

Summary:Pulmonary function on (FEV, FVC, PEFR) was evaluated in 105 HİSS patients aged 5-20 years and the same number of age and sex-matched haematologically-normal controls. The influence of age, sex, anthropometry, previous episodes of pneumonia and presence of digital clubbing on the pulmonary function was examined. The results showed that pulmonary function was significantly compromised among the patients when matched for sex and height with controls. The younger patients had better pulmonary function. Pulmonary function correlated well with anthropometric measurements, especially height, in both groups. The observed mean FVC value in patients who had had more than 3 previous episodes of pneumonia was 78.8% of the predicted value, while it was 83.5% in those without previous pneumonia. There is a need to prevent pneumonia as much as possible in SS in patients, if pulmonary function is not to be severely compromised.