Hospitalisations for sickle-cell disease in an Australian paediatric population

Abstract

Aim: Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is more prevalent in Australia due to increased migration; however, the Australian paediatric SCD population has not been previously described. This study aimed to identify the demographic features of and quantify the hospital resource utilisation in the SCD population at The Royal Children's Hospital in Victoria. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of SCD patients who presented to the Royal Children's Hospital over a 10.5-year period. Descriptive analyses were conducted. Results: Thirty-seven SCD patients aged from 0.2 to 18.0 years (mean: 8.5 ± 4.8 years) had 535 admissions over the 10.5-year period. The population was made up of 28 homozygous sick..