COVID-19 Infection in a Sickle Cell Anaemia Patient from Sudan

Abstract

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder with variable clinical presentation and low immunity. Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)is a pandemic disease with a high-risk in chronic disease patients and older adults. SCD is widely distributed in Sudan; many SCD patients are infected with COVID-19. Despite this, no published data is available. This case report demonstrated the haematological and clinical course of a Sudanese sickle cell anaemia patient with COVID-19. A 20-year-old male patient was admitted to a hospital for 15 days. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from his medical records. A blood sample was taken at the time of admission and during hospitalisation. Tests were performed during admission, including Complete Blood Count (CBC), liver function test, renal function test, coagulation studies, viral screening, and urine general. The patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 using the Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test based on the nasopharyngeal swab and COVID-19 IgG and IgM using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for the previous infection. The patient received intravenous fluids, antibiotics, analgesia, oxygen supplementation, and blood transfusion two times during hospitalisation, and there was no need for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. The patient’s prognosis was good; he was discharged on day 16 with no symptoms and a negative result of the COVID-19 PCR test. A severe illness was expected because he was infected twice by COVID-19, the patient showed mild clinical symptoms with a good prognosis, so further studies are required to understand COVID-19 among Sudanese SCD patients.