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Sickle cell disease still constitutes a worrying public health problem today. In its major form, it remains a significant cause of infant mortality in our countries. Objective: To study the epidemiological aspects of sickle cell disease in the pediatric department of Sikasso hospital. Methodology: This is a prospective cross-sectional study running from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, a period of one year, meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: During the study period, 4800 patients were consulted in the department including 72 cases of sickle cell anemia, i.e. a prevalence of 1.5%. The average age was 29.5 months. Children under 5 years old were the most represented with 55.5% of cases. The male sex was more common with a sex ratio of 1.4. Depending on the father's Hb type, the AS form represented 87% of cases. In 14 cases, or 70%, the mothers of our patients carried the sickle cell AS trait. Patients were known to have sickle cell disease before the age of 5 in 55.5% of cases. The SS form was the most represented with 57% of cases. The circumstances of discovery were dominated by abdominal pain and osteoarticular pain with 41.7% and 27.8% respectively. Pallor and jaundice were the most common signs on admission with 37.5% and 17.5% of cases respectively. Complications were dominated by CVO and infection with respectively 56.2% and 25%. Conclusion: Difficulties remain in management, linked on the one hand to the unfavorable socio-economic conditions of our populations and on the other hand to the unavailability of certain key tests such as hemoglobin electrophoresis and reticulocyte levels at Sikasso hospital.
Sangaré et al. (Tue,) studied this question.