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Updated: Jun 10, 2025

A Precision Medicine Tool for Measurement and Monitoring of Hemoglobin S in Sickle Cell Disease Patients Receiving Transfusion Therapy
Venous Thromboembolism in Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease: A Narrative Review
Ismail A Raslan1, Ziad Solh2,3, Kevin H M Kuo1
1Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobinopathy characterized by vaso-occlusion, hemolysis of red blood cells (RBC), and a predisposition for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The sickling and hemolysis of RBC culminate in coagulation system abnormalities, platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction, and impaired blood flow manifesting as a prothrombotic state. In addition, individuals with SCD are often exposed to extrinsic risk factors for VTE including recurrent hospitalizations, central venous catheters, and acute medical illnesses. The diagnosis is often challenging as symptoms may mimic other complications of SCD, and there is little data to guide diagnostic algorithms involving probability scoring in the SCD population. Non-anticoagulant strategies aimed at reducing disease severity may aid in lowering the risk of VTE, but data is limited. Furthermore, high quality evidence regarding anticoagulation in prevention and treatment of SCD is severely lacking, resulting in heterogeneity in clinical practice. In this narrative review we aim to review the prothrombotic pathophysiology of SCD, to describe the risk factors, high risk of mortality, and types of VTE in SCD, to develop an approach to the diagnosis of VTE in SCD, and to understand the limited available evidence for the prevention and treatment of VTE in SCD.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobinopathy characterized by vaso-occlusion, hemolysis of red blood cells (RBC), and a predisposition for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The sickling and hemolysis of RBC culminate in coagulation system abnormalities, platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction, and impaired blood flow manifesting as a prothrombotic state. In addition, individuals with SCD are often exposed to extrinsic risk factors for VTE including recurrent hospitalizations, central venous catheters, and acute medical illnesses. The diagnosis is often challenging as symptoms may mimic other complications of SCD, and there is little data to guide diagnostic algorithms involving probability scoring in the SCD population. Non-anticoagulant strategies aimed at reducing disease severity may aid in lowering the risk of VTE, but data is limited. Furthermore, high quality evidence regarding anticoagulation in prevention and treatment of SCD is severely lacking, resulting in heterogeneity in clinical practice. In this narrative review we aim to review the prothrombotic pathophysiology of SCD, to describe the risk factors, high risk of mortality, and types of VTE in SCD, to develop an approach to the diagnosis of VTE in SCD, and to understand the limited available evidence for the prevention and treatment of VTE in SCD.
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