Manifestations ostéoarticulaires des anémies

Osteoarticular manifestations due to haemolytic anaemia are not rare. Generally, they appear early in childhood but they may remain causing great problems of management in adulthood and, thus, concern the rheumatologist. During the management of thalassaemia, various painful bone or joint manifestations may be encountered. Osteoporosis has become a more frequent disorder due to the lengthening of survival that has resulted from an improved therapeutic management. Biophosphonates have shown efficacy in significantly increasing the bone mass. The principal complication of beta-thalassaemias is the vaso-occlusive attack that, at the bone level, may be responsible for bone infarct or aseptic osteonecrosis. Other painful manifestations may be observed, such as septic arthritis or aseptic arthropathies. In such cases also, multidisciplinary management allowed reducing mortality and improving survival.