Evolutionary Profile of Drepanocytic Patients Followed at the National Drepanocytosis Reference Centre (CNRDr) Congo Brazzaville

Introduction: Sickle cell disease is a public health problem in the Republic of Congo where the prevalence of sickle cell trait is estimated at 1.25%. The aim of this study was to establish the profile of sickle cell patients regularly followed at the CNRDr. Methods: This is a descriptive cross - sectional study including sickle cell patients regularly followed at the National Reference Centre for Sickle Cell Disease (CNRDr) from November 2019 to March 2020. A sample of 127 patients was randomly selected during the study period. Blood counts were performed with a Sysmex - XN 350 automated system and CRP was determined with the Cobas 311 automated system. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 22 software. Results: The study showed that the disease was diagnosed in 31.5% of the sickle cell patients as a result of the hand - foot syndromes. Sickle cell disease was discovered as a result of prenatal diagnosis in only 1.6% of patients.87.4% of patients came from the department of Brazzaville and 12.6% from the interior of the country. The patients included in our study were transfused on average 1.78 times per year with a standard deviation of 0.80 (1.78?0.80). The number of OVCs and hospitalizations was 2.41?0.40 and 2.90?1.02 respectively. The majority of subjects made 1.9?1.02 visits per year. The WBC was 10.36?4.49 in men and 7.93?2.49 in women. Haematocrit (HCT) and reticulocytes (RET) were significantly higher in men (19.13?5.44 and 0.29?0.12, pless than0.05) than in women. The mean CRP was higher in women. Conclusion: This study shows that the management of sickle cell disease in the Republic of Congo is improving. The problem being well identified, it is imperative to create specialised units for the management of this haematological condition in other departments of the country.