A French population-based study published in the Journal Blood disclosed that patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) were at increased risk of vaso-occlusive episodes (VOE) after exposure to corticosteroids.

A total of 5,151 patients were enrolled in the trial. The outcome was hospitalization for the first time due to VOE. A month after exposure, patients receiving systemic corticosteroids were nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized for a VOE (aOR: 3.8). (95 % Confidence Interval - CI: 2.4-5.6) compared to those who did not receive corticosteroids.

In patients exposed to hydroxyurea, the risk was slightly minimized, as patients treated with the medicine were less likely to be hospitalized when exposed to steroids. In exposed patients, the aOR was 2.6 (95 % CI: 1.1-6.4); in unexposed patients, it was 4.0 (95% CI: 2.5-6.3). These findings were found to be similar in both children and adults.

Thus the study revealed that systemic corticosteroids were linked to an increased incidence of VOE hospitalization and should be avoided in SCD patients. (MedPage Today May 2, 2022, Blood 2022; DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021014473.)