Leg ulcers in sickle cell patients: management challenges

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive hemoglobinopathy caused by an amino acid substitution from glutamic acid to valine in the beta hemoglobin chain. One of the common symptoms occurring in sickle cell patients are leg ulcers, which are notoriously painful, difficult to treat, and frequently recurrent. These ulcers pose a therapeutic challenge with multiple modalities proposed for treatment, but with scarce evidence of efficacy of any single modality. Ulcer prevention, rigorous wound care, pain control, and surgery are the current mainstays of sickle cell leg ulcer treatment.