Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with sickle-cell and autoimmune/connective tissue diseases

Patients with sickle-cell disease who develop autoimmune connective tissue disorders can present with similar clinical manifestations and/or complications making them indistinguishable. We report here a single-institution study on a cohort of 24 patients, with the above combination. The results suggest that there is often a significant delay in making the second diagnosis because of the overlapping clinical profile. It is emphasized that the clinician should be aware of and vigilant about such cases and should diligently follow up such cases to make an early diagnosis and start the appropriate treatment.