Ultrasonographic measurements of the hepatobiliary axis of children with sickle cell anaemia in steady state

ABSTRACT

Sickle cell anaemia is associated with structural manifestations in the hepatobiliary axis but these manifestations have not been sufficiently examined in Nigerian or African children. This study wasconducted to evaluate the results of ultrasono-graphic measurements of the hepatobiliary axis of children with sickle cell anaemia in a Nigerian teaching hospital. One hundred and twenty children with Hb SS in steady state aged between 12 months and 15 years and sixty children with Hb AA matched by age and sex (as controls) were consecutively recruited from April through November 2002. Past and present medical histories were obtained and physical examination and abdominal ultrasonography were performed. The mean liver span; the common hepatic duct and common bile duct diameters; the longitudinal and transverse dimensions (but not the wall thickness) of the gallbladder were significantly higher in test subjects than controls (p 0.05). Multiple regression showed that age correlated significantly with all the studied ultrasound scan (USS) measurements (p 0.05). Recurrent episodes of abdominal pain correlated with gallbladder wall thickness (p