Increased Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Splenectomized Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients may need to have their spleen removed due to various conditions related to their health status (acute splenic sequestration crisis, hypersplenism, massive splenic infarction, splenic abscess etc).

A study conducted in Paris sought to investigate the differences between the characteristics of patients with SCD with a history of splenectomy and those non-splenectomized. In the study data from 360 patients with SCD were analyzed, 42 of which had had their spleen removed.

This study showed that SCD patients of haemoglobin S/β⁰ thalassemia (Sβ⁰) phenotype or those with an α-thalassaemia trait were more likely to have their spleen removed than those who are homozygous for hemoglobin S gene (SS). Another interesting finding of this study is that splenectomy may be a risk factor for venous thromboembolic disease, however it is clear that it is difficult to prove a causal relationship between splenectomy and venous thromboembolism.