A vaso-occlusive crisis is a common painful complication of sickle cell anemia in adolescents and adults.
The most common complaint is of pain, and recurrent episodes may cause irreversible organ damage.
[2] One of the most severe forms is the acute chest syndrome which occurs as a result of infarction of the lung parenchyma.
Other types of vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell anemia include dactylitis, priapism, abdominal pain, and jaundice.
[4] The management of an acute event of vaso-occlusive crisis is the use of potent analgesics (opioids),[5] rehydration with normal saline or Ringer's lactate, treatment of malaria (whether symptomatic or not) using artemisinin combination therapy, and the use of oxygen via face mask, especially for acute chest syndrome.