Introduction: Sickle cell anemia and traits are well described in the African-American population. Hispanic Americans are an underappreciated community affected by Sickle cell disease, where it affects about every 1 in 16300 live births compared to 1 in every 365 African-American births.Hence, it is essential to acknowledge the incidence in Latin American origin people to provide competent and specific care to these populations.
Case Description: Case 1: A 28-year-old Latin-American lady with sickle cell anemia, multiple transfusions, and exchange transfusion in the past presented with complaints of lower back and lower extremity pain. The patient got admitted with acute sickle cell crisis, secondary to suspected pneumonia. It was managed supportively and received multiple PRBC transfusions, was discharged after five days.
Case 2: A 32-year-old Latin-American lady with intellectual disability, familial dysmorphic features, sickle cell disease presented to the emergency department with chest pain and shortness of breath, got admitted with acute chest syndrome secondary to sickle cell crisis for further management. She received one PRBC transfusion, after which her symptoms resolved, and discharged home the same day.
Discussion: Although only 10 to 15% of patients with sickle cell disease are of Latin origin, the prevalence is higher in areas with a predominantly Hispanic population, such as South Texas.Many of those affected suffer the consequences of sickle cell crisis.Physicians and all other health care providers should be well-versed in managing the disease to provide competent and comprehensive care, especially in such areas
