Abstract
Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of patients with sickle cell anemia who presented with stroke, attended at the Belo Horizonte’s Hemocenter. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out to identify the main epidemiological characteristics of this population. Results: In the 52 patients studied, mean age for stroke was 16.6 years. The ischemic stroke occurred in 82.4% (42/52) of the cases, followed by hemorrhagic in 13.7% (7/52) and 3.9% (2/52) of silent stroke. Of these, 20.8% of patients had disabling sequelae. The ischemic stroke was the most prevalent type in all age groups, presenting a similar proportion among patients under 20 years old and over 35 years old, but with an evident increase in their predominance in individuals between 21 and 35 years old. Conclusions: Stroke is a complication present in patients with sickle cell anemia, which generate incapacity and / or dependence, causing personal and family harm and therefore impacts health services and public resources. Further studies with larger sample are necessary. We suggest the creation of and state and national electronic database of patients with sickle cell anemia, regarding especially the complications.