Gallbladder disease in young Congolese with sickle cell anemia: an ultrasound survey

Patients with sickle cell anemia have been shown to present with a high prevalence of gallbladder disease. Relatively few data exist on the prevalence of gallbladder disease in Africans with autosomal recessive gene for sickle hemoglobin. To establish this relationship, we examined the 1-year incidence of gallbladder disease among 190 consecutive children and young adults with sickle cell anemia aged 3-24 years using ultrasound. There were 130 males (68.4 per cent) and 60 females (31.6 per cent). Incidence of cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, hydrops of gallbladder, and biliary sludge were 58.4, 25.3, 18.4, and 2.1 per cent, respectively. Of the 190 patients, 61 (37.3 per cent) presented hepatobiliary symptoms. The incidence of cholelithiasis depended on age. The age group 10-14 years and leucocytes > 10000/mm3 were considered as risk factors of the cholelithias onset, while female gender was isolated as a risk factor for the hydrops of the gallbladder outcome. In conclusion, the ultrasonographic examination is recommended for patients with hepatobiliary symptoms with respect to the high prevalence of the autosomal recessive gene for sickle hemoglobin in Congo, Central Africa.