Sickle Cell Osteonecrosis, Report of 31 Cases in Congo Brazzaville

The diagnosis of sickle cell osteonecrosis was made based on anamnestic, clinical and paraclinical arguments (radiological classification by Arlet and Ficat). Results:We included 31 cases of sickle cell osteonecrosis (0.6%), including 18 female (58.1%) and 13 male (41.9%), with a sex ratio of 0.72 (M/F).The mean age was 25.6 years (range 10 and 44).The hip was the seat of the most common osteonecrosis: left unilateral in 15 cases (48.4%), right unilateral in 12 cases (38.7%) and bilateral in 4 cases (12.9%), follow-up of the shoulder, the location of which was bilateral in 2 cases (6.4%).According to the Arlet and Ficat classification, osteonecrosis was stage III in 15 patients (47.4%), stage II in 14 patients (45.1%) and stage IV in 2 cases (6.4%).The treatment combined medical treatment in all patients and surgical treatment in 6 patients (19.3%). Conclusion:This work underlines that osteonecrosis is a serious and disabling complication of sickle cell anemia.Adequate management involves analgesics and NSAIDs in our context.