Manifestations of sickle cell disease in adolescents and young adults

In Germany about 300 sickle cell patients are being seen at more than 100 different hospitals. One third of these patients are adolescents and young adults. Since this is a congenital chronic disease, the majority of these teenagers and young adults are being cared for by pediatricians. Sickle cell disease in patients older than 15 years is characterized by the development of chronic organ damage, in addition to the occurrence of acute manifestations of disease such as pain crises, splenic sequestration, aplastic crises and Acute Chest Syndrome. Pediatricians who care for older sickle cell patients have to handle not only internal medicine problems but also to answer questions concerning pregnancy and contraception. In this paper the specific problems of adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease are presented and suggestions are offered for the care of this group of patients.