Clinical features of pulmonary lesions in sickle-cell anaemia.

Acute pulmonary diseases in patients with sickle-cell anaemia are usually diagnosed as pneumonia, but in our experience their rate of resolution and clinical course is different from pneumonia occurring in patients with normal haemoglobins.To confirm this we analysed the clinical course of these pulmonary episodes in a group of patients with sickle-cell anaemia and compared them with a control group of patients with acute lobar pneumonia. PATIENTS AND METHODSTwenty-eight adult patients (8 male and 20 female) with sickle-cell anaemia were admitted to the University Hospital with a diagnosis-of pneumonia during the period 1957-69.Age at admission varied from 11 to 55 years (mean 24-1 years).The diagnosis of sickle-cell anaemia was based on the finding of only haemoglobins S, F, and A on electrophoresis, normal A2 values, characteristic red cell morphology, and family studies where possible.Cases of sickle thalassaemia and-Hb SC disease were excluded.A control group of 28 patients (19 male and 9 female) with acute lobar pneumonia was selected from admissions to the medical wards.They were closely matched for age to the