Nursing Diagnosis:

1. Acute Pain related to sickle cell

crisis as evidence by a high pain
rating on the numeric scale.
2. Ineffective Peripheral Tissue
Perfusion related to red blood cell
sickling as evidence by infarction of
tissues.
3. Activity Intolerance related to
fatigue as evidence by decrease
activity
The job of a nurse is very important in
the role of treating a sickle cell anemia
patient. This is because it is his or her
job to keep the patient comfortable. It
becomes hard at times because the
amount of pain medications this type of
patient can tolerate is a lot more than
most patients bodies can safely
metabolize. It is then a hard decision on
whether or not it is safe to administer
the ordered amount of medications.

1. A Negroid-American, who is a sickle cell
carrier, is about to give birth to her first child.
What is the likelihood that this child will have
sickle cell?
A. 25% C. 75%
B. 50% D. 100%
2. A patient arrives in the emergency
department with a history of sickle cell
anemia and he is complaining of extreme pain
in abdomen and joints. What could be causing
this pain?
A. He is extremely constipated
B. He has a buildup of sickled cells in
multiple areas
C. He stopped taking his pain medicine
D. He is a male with sickle cell anemia
References:
Nursing Central. (2013) Unbound Medicine, Inc. (Version 2.2.48)
[Mobile application software]. Retrieved
from http://www.unboundmedicine.com/store/android
Facts About Sickle Cell Disease. (2014, January 16). Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/facts.html




Elise Chirco
NURS 300






Informational Brochure



Sickle cell anemia is a recessive gene and all
too often it goes unnoticed by its carriers.
This is because as a recessive gene, the
disease does not typically show signs and
symptoms. So when two carriers of the
sickle cell gene procreate there is a 25%
chance the resulting child will be born with
the disease and there is a 50% chance that
their resulting child will only carry the sickle
cell anemia gene.
This disease does not have a gender
preference, boys and girls alike can receive
this life altering gene the same. The negroid
population is the one in which is most
devastated by sickle cell. According to the
Center for Disease Control, or CDC, 1 in 500
negroid-American births have sickle cell
anemia, as compared to, 1 in 36,000
hispanic-American births.









Children born with sickle cell anemia begin
showing signs and symptoms about five
months after birth according to the Center for
Disease Control. This is because it is at this age
is when the babys red blood cells began to
take on a sickled form. As pictured to the left,
a normal red blood cell is round and flexible
with a dip in the middle, for oxygen carrying
purposes, and a cell that has become sickled
looks like the letter C and has become rigid
and can no longer carry as much oxygen, if
any. Children with sickle cell will show
symptoms such as: swelling and pain in joints,
chest pain, and decreased energy and will
struggle to catch his or her breath. Delayed or
impaired growth can also be seen.
The average life expectancy of
a sickle cell patient is 42 years.
The sickled shape of the red blood cells
cause them to get stuck in joints. This leads
to extreme pain and joint immobility. The
extreme pain could also be a result of the
formation of a deep vein thrombosis. As
these patients age, the pain crisis will
increase with frequency and intensity. A
lack of oxygen being able to get past joints in
veins and arteries which can lead to tissue
necrosis and organ failure. Other symptoms
of this disease are pale or yellow skin,
fatigue, increased heart rate, enlarged liver
and spleen and eventually death.



The reason this form of the sickle cell disease
is called anemia is because there is a
decrease number of good red blood cells in
the body. Sickling of red blood cells occurs
quicker when the body has a decrease level
of oxygen. The liver filters out the bad red
blood cells faster than would a good blood
cell. A normal red blood cell will circulate
for about 120 days compared to a sickled
cells 20 days. The body cannot produce as
much and as fast as it is breaking down.
Jaundice tends to occur in these patients
because of this quick turn over in damaged
red blood cells.
As stated earlier sickled red blood cells are
not able to carry oxygen as well as normal
red blood cells. This causes a decrease in
amount of blood getting into the tissues and
organs, which can lead to organ failure.
When these organs do not receive enough
oxygen they send a message to the heart
saying the need is not being met, which will
lead to an increase in heart rate.