Critical Care Nursing: Sickle Cell Anemia
Critical Care Nursing: Sickle Cell Anemia
Critical Care Nursing
10/15/2009
Sickle cell anemia affects millions of people worldwide. Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which your body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells. They don't last as long as normal, round red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Sickle cells contain abnormal hemoglobin that causes the cells to have a sickle shape. Sickle-shaped cells don’t move easily through your blood vessels. They’re stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in the blood vessels. The sickle cells also get stuck in blood vessels, blocking blood flow. This can cause pain and organ damage. Sickle cell disease is caused by a mutation in the beta-globin chain of the hemoglobin molecule. Sickle hemoglobin, the result of this mutation, has the singular property of polymerizing when deoxygenated. In sickle cell anemia, a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells occur because sickle cells don’t last very long. Sickle cells usually die after only about 10 to 20 days. The bone marrow can’t make new red blood cells fast enough to replace the dying ones. The disease has no widely available cure. In this paper I will review the test for detecting this disorder, the treatments available and nursing interventions for patients with Sickle Cell Anemia. Despite genetic identity at the site of the sickle hemoglobin mutation, all patients with sickle cell anemia are not affected equally by this disease. People with the disease are born with two sickle cell genes, one from each parent. If you only have one sickle cell gene, it's called sickle cell trait. About 1 in 12 African Americans has sickle cell trait. A DNA analysis can show if you have the trait or anemia. This test is used to investigate alterations and mutations in the genes that produce hemoglobin components. It can determine whether a patient has one copy of the hemoglobin S gene, two copies, or copies of different
Critical Care Nursing
10/15/2009
Sickle cell anemia affects millions of people worldwide. Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which your body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells. They don't last as long as normal, round red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Sickle cells contain abnormal hemoglobin that causes the cells to have a sickle shape. Sickle-shaped cells don’t move easily through your blood vessels. They’re stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in the blood vessels. The sickle cells also get stuck in blood vessels, blocking blood flow. This can cause pain and organ damage. Sickle cell disease is caused by a mutation in the beta-globin chain of the hemoglobin molecule. Sickle hemoglobin, the result of this mutation, has the singular property of polymerizing when deoxygenated. In sickle cell anemia, a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells occur because sickle cells don’t last very long. Sickle cells usually die after only about 10 to 20 days. The bone marrow can’t make new red blood cells fast enough to replace the dying ones. The disease has no widely available cure. In this paper I will review the test for detecting this disorder, the treatments available and nursing interventions for patients with Sickle Cell Anemia. Despite genetic identity at the site of the sickle hemoglobin mutation, all patients with sickle cell anemia are not affected equally by this disease. People with the disease are born with two sickle cell genes, one from each parent. If you only have one sickle cell gene, it's called sickle cell trait. About 1 in 12 African Americans has sickle cell trait. A DNA analysis can show if you have the trait or anemia. This test is used to investigate alterations and mutations in the genes that produce hemoglobin components. It can determine whether a patient has one copy of the hemoglobin S gene, two copies, or copies of different
References: Lough, M. E., Stacy, K. M., & Urden, L. D. (2007). Priorities in Critical Care Nursing. St Louis, Missouri: Mosby. Mann-Jiles, V., & Morris, D. (2009). Quality of life of adult patients with sickle cell disease. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 21(6), 340-349. http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu Sickle Cell Anemia and Stroke. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehsphl/PHL/newborn/scstroke.htm Sickle Cell Anemia, What Is. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2009, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_WhatIs.html Sickle Cell Anemia: MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sicklecellanemia.html Stroke in Sickle Cell Disease. (1998, September 5). Retrieved October 14, 2009, from http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/stroke.html [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]