What happens in vaso-occlusive crisis?
What happens in vaso-occlusive crisis?
Pain crisis (also called vaso-occlusive crisis) This occurs when the flow of blood is blocked to an area because the sickle-shaped cells have become stuck in the blood vessel. Pain can occur anywhere but most often occurs in the bones of the arms, legs, chest, and spine.
What are the signs and symptoms of a vaso-occlusive crisis?
Chest. Hands and feet (more typical in young children)…You may also have:
- Breathing problems (shortness of breath or pain when breathing or both)
- Extreme tiredness.
- Headache or dizziness.
- Painful erections in males.
- Weakness or a hard time moving some parts of your body.
- Yellowish skin color (jaundice)
What is a vaso-occlusive episode?
A vaso-occlusive crisis occurs when the microcirculation is obstructed by sickled RBCs, causing ischemic injury to the organ supplied and resultant pain.
What organs are affected by Vaso occlusion?
Pain Patterns in the Vaso-occlusive Crisis A vaso-occlusive crisis most commonly involves the back, legs, knees, arms, chest and abdomen. 4,5,12 The pain generally affects two or more sites.
How is vaso-occlusive crisis diagnosed?
Diagnosis. Diagnosis of vaso-occlusive crisis is based on clinical manifestations, complete blood count with white blood cell differential, platelet count, reticulocyte count, and comprehensive metabolic panel with liver and kidney function tests.
How long do vaso-occlusive crisis last?
When a vaso-occlusive crisis lasts longer than seven days, it is important to search for other causes of bone pain, such as osteomyelitis, avascular necrosis and compression deformities. When a recurrent bone crisis lasts for weeks, an exchange transfusion may be required to abort the cycle.
How long does a vaso-occlusive crisis last?
Why does vaso occlusion cause pain?
The severe pain is believed to be caused by increased intra-medullary pressure, especially within the juxta-articular areas of long bones, secondary to an acute inflammatory response to vascular necrosis of the bone marrow by sickled eythrocytes.
What are the symptoms of a vaso occlusive crisis?
A reduction of blood to the spleen caused by vaso-occlusive crisis can make a patient susceptible to infection because of the spleen’s role in the immune system. Symptoms of a vaso-occlusive crisis typically include pain, which can vary in its intensity.
What is the vaso occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease?
The vaso-occlusive crisis, or sickle cell crisis, is initiated and sustained by interactions among sickle cells, endothelial cells and plasma constituents. 1 Vaso-occlusion is responsible for a wide variety of clinical complications of sickle cell disease, including pain syndromes, stroke, leg ulcers, spontaneous abortion and renal insufficiency.
Are there any side effects to morphine for vaso occlusive crisis?
For these reasons, parenterally administered morphine should be considered the treatment of choice for moderate to severe pain in vaso-occlusive crises. Morphine’s side effects include pruritus, nausea, vomiting and rash. In addition, dosage adjustments are necessary in patients with liver dysfunction. 19
