Review of Literature: Sickle Cell Pain Management

Sickle cell disease is common in the United States among African-Americans, with one in 500 African-American children born with the disease (Beth Israel Medical Center Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, 2005). Pain is a problem associated with sickle cell disease which occurs when blood vessels become clogged with sickle shaped red blood cells that are hard and sticky, preventing blood from flowing through the veins. A clogged blood vessel is called an occlusion and occlusions in blood vessels can lead to a painful sickle cell crisis known as vaso-occlusion.

While not all people with SCD have such crises, those who do often require assistance in coping with the pain and securing relief from its effects (Beth Israel Medical Center Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, 2005). About 30 percent of all sickle cell disease sufferers rarely or never experience the pain caused by a crisis, about 50 percent have only a few crises throughout their lives, and 20 percent have frequent, severe, sickle cell crises. Managing the pain associated with SCD is an important consideration within medical practice and nursing care. It is this process which is the focus of this literature review.

The purpose of this review of literature is to examine a series of studies on pain management for individuals suffering from Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The studies identified in the research effort are cate

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ers of students with SCD in their classroom. Teachers with students in a remediation program participated in an educational effort consisting of four domains: inheritance and prevalence, common complications, strokes, and individual education plans. A 30 to 45 minute presentation was given with a pre-test and a post-test. King, et al (2005) stated that 81 teachers who taught grades K-12 completed the program. Most teachers understood the complications of SCD and pain, the risk of strokes, and the purpose of individualized education programs. Overall, the rate of correct answers on the post-test increased from 72.5 percent to 83.1 percent. The overarching goal of this study was to determine whether or not educating teachers likely to encounter students with SCD would improve the ability of these teachers to assist students academically and in other ways. Results suggest that improving the knowledge of SCD among teachers is instrumental in facilitating early intervention for any academic difficulties that children with SCD might experience. Class III Studies Class III studies consist of secondary analysis and/or data registry analysis. In such studies, original data is not collected and/or the study may consist of a revi

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