Acute chest syndrome historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

The term acute chest syndrome (ACS) was first proposed in 1979, by Charache et.al. ACS is the second most common cause of hospitalization in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), and is responsible for up to 25% of deaths. Recurrent episodes have been associated with an increased risk of both chronic lung disease and early mortality. The Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell disease is a prospective study that followed 3,751 patients with SCD from 1979 through 1988. Vichinsky et.al., from that group, reviewed 1,722 cases of ACS in 939 patients. They defined ACS as a new pulmonary infiltrate on chest x-ray (CXR), or a defect on a perfusion scan, however, 99% of patients, were diagnosed with ACS on the basis of their CXRs.

Template:WikiDoc Sources