Managing the acutely ill adult with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an autosomal recessively inherited condition, affecting the structure of the haemoglobin. SCD is a long-term chronic condition which is manifested by periods of acute painful sickling crisis, known as vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) and is the cause of 90% of sickle cell-related hospital admissions. SCD is one of the most common genetic conditions worldwide and in the UK there are approximately 12,500 people living with it (Streetly et al,1997; Howard et al, 2008), making it more common than cystic fibrosis, yet there still remains many challenges in managing these patients when they become acutely ill.

Nursing care of patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Stem cell transplantation (SCT) may be a treatment option for patients who have been diagnosed with a haemato-oncological condition, such as leukaemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma. SCT is a complex and challenging treatment. In particular, allogeneic transplant significantly increases the risk of developing infections.