Diagnosis and treatment of patients with sickle cell anemia: an integrative review of the literature

Objective: The study presented here aims to identify, through scientific research, the ways of diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell anemia. Methodology: Integrative literature review of evidence present through research, method in critical evaluation and synthesis, helping to firm the existing health practices. The search was made in LILACS, IBECS, MEDLINE and PUBMED databases. The studies and search were performed in articles from the last 10 years (2012-2022) in order to obtain updates and more recent articles in the literature. Results and Discussion: The first scientific evidence of the disease in Brazil appeared in the mid-nineteenth century precisely in 1835, through the doctor named José Martins da Cruz Jobim, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, when discussing and exposing the diseases that most affected the low-income population in Brazil. In its physiopathological process, sickle-cell anemia is a hereditary genetic disease that has characteristics arising from a mutation in position 6 of the beta globin chain on chromosome 11, where the bases (GAG) are replaced by the bases (GTG), thus resulting in the replacement of glutamine acid by valine. Conclusion: Because it is a hereditary disease and originated from a mutation in the beta chain of hemoglobin, this disease has high morbidity, especially in the north and northeast, with emphasis on people of African descent. In order to reduce mortality, it is extremely important that sickle cell anemia be diagnosed and treated early to avoid further complications and disease progression. Among these methods, there are tests that help diagnose the patient.