Risk Factors Of Biliary Colic

Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic-based disease that affects red blood cells. Otherwise known as sickle cell disease, the condition causes the cells to form into crescent-like shapes, and occurs when the body produces an abnormal type of hemoglobin, the protein that helps carry oxygen through the bloodstream.

Bilirubin happens to be a byproduct of hemoglobin. In sickle cell anemia, red blood cells have a shorter lifespan, thus they break down quicker. The body has to perpetually break down these cells, which can cause bilirubin to build up in the liver and gallbladder. Therefore, it can lead to the development of gallstones and biliary colic.

The prevalence of gallstones in sickle cell anemia is noted in a 1987 review that followed 131 UK-based patients. At least sixty-one of the 131 patients had been currently diagnosed with or treated for gallstones. In addition, biliary colic symptoms were found in at least thirty-two of the patients with gallstones. Gallstones' link to sickle cell anemia is also documented in a 2008 review of children's medical reports. Gallstones were presented in forty-five percent of 225 patients.

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