Satyabrata Guru
BACKGROUND
Sickle cell trait is usually asymptomatic. Anaemia and painful crises are rare. An uncommon, but highly distinctive symptom is painless haematuria probably due to papillary necrosis. Few isolated cases of massive sickling or sudden death due to exposure to high altitudes or extremes of exercise and dehydration are also reported. Though pulmonary infarction is a well-known complication of sickle cell disease, it is very uncommon in sickle cell trait. Our case is an unique presentation of a 34-year-old female who is a known sickle cell trait patient who presented as pneumonia and subsequently found to have pulmonary infarction. Patient was successfully treated with antibiotics, low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and anticoagulants (Acitrom).
