Bacteraemia Among Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria: Association with Spleen Size and Function

In Sub-Saharan Africa, infections are a leading cause of morbidity among individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). The causes of the increased risk of infection are poorly documented, but the loss of splenic function is important. Previous studies have documented increased susceptibility to bacterial infections among SCD patients, evidenced by increasing markers of splenic dysfunction (1, 2); however, there are no data on the association between bacterial infections and splenic function among the SCD population in Sub-Saharan Africa, partly because most of the techniques required to assess splenic function are not readily available (3). We recently employed the presence of two red cell containing inclusions - Howell-Jolly bodies (HJB) and argyrophilic (silver staining) inclusion (AI) red cells - to assess splenic dysfunction among our SCD patients (4). In the present study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and pattern of organisms causing bacteraemia among our acutely-ill SCD patients and to describe any association between bacteraemia with splenic status on ultrasound and two markers of splenic dysfunction (i.e HJB and AI red cells)