Characteristics and potential biomarkers of adult sickle cell patients with chronic pain.

Objectives: In this study, we investigated the evolution of chronic pain in sickle cell patients (SCD) as an age-dependent phenomenon and studied the frequency of vaso-occlusive episode frequency, opioid use, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and biomarkers of chronic pain (CP).

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study of the evolution of CP in SCD. A total of 72 subjects (age 15-66) were enrolled.