Fever in sickle cell disease patients in the Kingdom of Bahrain

SummarySickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder characterized by abnormal red blood cell shape (sickling). The incidence of the disease in the Kingdom of Bahrain is approximately 2.1%. Patients with SCD are prone to multiple health complications, some of which are fatal. A retrospective study was conducted at the Salmaniya Medical Complex in the Kingdom of Bahrain from June, 2012 to December, 2012 to assess the incidence of fever among the SCD in-patients at that institution. The study also assessed the antibiotics administered, type of organisms isolated and patient outcome. The results showed that a total of 59 patients developed fever and 33 of those with fever had a positive culture result (55.93%). The most common isolate was gram-positive bacteria, most commonly Staphylococcus epidermidis (42.86%), and ceftriaxone was the most commonly prescribed antimicrobial. In conclusion, there was a low rate of hospital acquired infection and special attention needs to be paid to the infection control measures for SCD patients. For most of the SCD fever cases, there was no clear cause of the fever even after extensive diagnostic evaluations; thus, those fevers may have been of a non-infectious etiology in this population. Fortunately, none of the patients had any of the common preventable infections as a result of the high vaccination coverage and strong vaccination program in place in the Kingdom of Bahrain.