Perinatal outcome in sickle cell anemia: a prospective study from India

Sickle cell anemia, the homozygous genotype of sickle cell disease is one of the most common heritable diseases in the world. The Arab-Asian haplotype present in India is one of the least severe of all haplotypes. Many sickle cell anemia patients are now leading a symptom-free productive life due to hydroxyurea (HU) and better supportive care. Although pregnancy in sickle cell anemia patients is considered a high-risk category, it perinatal outcome is least studied, particularly among carriers of the Arab-Asian haplotype. Thus, the present prospective, randomized study was performed to assess the perinatal outcome in sickle cell anemia. Neonatal outcome such as low birth weight, perinatal mortality rate, special care newborn unit (SCNU) admission, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and pre term births were significantly higher in sickle cell anemia mothers. Maternal outcome such as severe anemia, preeclampsia, vasoocclusive crisis (VOC), pulmonary complications, jaundice and blood transfusion requirements were significantly higher in sickle cell anemia mothers, which were successfully managed. Cesarian section rate was not significantly different from normal controls. Successful pregnancies were achieved in 84.44% of cases. However, we strongly recommend that pregnancies in these patients should be managed in an institutional setup.