Venous Thromboembolism in Sickle Cell Disease is Associated with Neutrophilia

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) in individuals with sickle cell disease is common and portends a poor prognosis. The role of leukocyte count and its subsets on risk of VTE in sickle cell disease are not known. We conducted a retrospective case-control study and analyzed for leukocyte count at the time of VTE and 3 months prior. Leukocyte and neutrophil counts were elevated at the time of VTE (p = 0.003 and p = 0.0006, respectively) and 3 months prior (p = 0.001 and p = 0.0096, respectively) when compared to controls. Baseline leukocytosis and neutrophilia may be associated with subsequent risk for thrombosis in sickle cell disease.

Keywords:

• Leukocytosis
• neutrophilia
• predictors
• sickle cell disease
• venous thromboembolism (VTE)

Acknowledgment

Shashank Sarvepalli is supported by a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Institutional National Service Award (T32) from the National Institutes of Health under Award Number T32 DK083266.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute [R01 HL142647-01] (to LN) and Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award [2T32 DK060445-16] (to JG).