| Article

Unsedated procedures involving patients who have acute or chronic illness can be painful and cause nervousness, anxiety, distress, and catastrophizing. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to positively distract, and therefore lessen the stress involved. The Journal of Medical Internet Research repor...

| Article

In a New England Journal of Medicine online editorial, a professor/hematologist commented on a study about sickle cell disease and gene therapy. The study, which also appeared in NEJM, successfully prevented complications from the disease by adding a gene to a patient’s blood stem cells. “Gene...

| Podcast

This presentation will focus on the development of a clinical decision tool to standardize opioid prescribing for patients with sickle cell disease. Collin Montgomery, NP, and Leigh Ann Wilson, LCSW, both of whom work in the Adult Clinical Sickle Cell Program at the University of Arkansas for...

| Article

In 2020, the Nobel Prize was awarded to two chemists who invented a gene editing technology. That technology, CRISPR-Cas9, was recently used successfully on two patients with beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that “gene editing modified the DNA of...

| Article

One man's story may offer hope to many. Evie Junior is a 27 year old with sickle cell disease complications. He had to have his gall bladder and spleen removed. Then he developed pericarditis. Sometimes he couldn't walk because of the pain. Sometimes he ended up at the emergency room and stayed in...

| Video

At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Leigh Ann Wilson is a licensed clinical social worker and Collin Montgomery is the program coordinator for the Adult Sickle Cell Program. Pain is the hallmark symptom of sickle cell disease, which is often managed by hematologists or...

| Article

In a recent issue of the journal of Substance Use & Misuse, a study of sickle cell disease patients was discussed. It is well known that, in the sickle cell disease population, chronic pain rates are high. Perhaps less well known are the levels of mental health issues. Even less known? Levels of...

| Article

Potential treatments

  • Increased fluid intake: sickle cell disease patients are more at risk for dehydration because they can’t concentrate their urine
  • Ibuprofen, NSAIDs
  • SSRIs, SNRIs
  • Gabapentinoids
  • Antispasmodics
  • Hot baths, heating pads, hot packs
  • Massage
  • Distraction
  • Activity when...

| Article

Newswise — Cannabis appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for the chronic pain that afflicts people with sickle cell disease, according to a new clinical trial co-led by University of California, Irvine researcher Kalpna Gupta and Dr. Donald Abrams of UC San Francisco. The...

| Article

Leigh Ann Wilson is a licensed clinical social worker and Collin Montgomery is the program coordinator for the Adult Sickle Cell Program, both at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Why and how did they develop a clinical decision tool to standardize opioid prescribing...

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