Meeks D, et al. - This study assessed the prevalence of simple renal cysts in patients with versus without sickle cell disease (SCD). In comparison to ethnically-matched controls, patients with SCD were found to be suffering from a more frequent occurrence of simple renal cysts, that were more abundant and developed at a younger age.

Methods

• Researchers compared data from 223 SCD patients who had undergone an ultrasound and/or CT imaging of the abdomen with the data from 180 control patients (haemoglobin genotype unknown), matched for age and ethnicity.
• They assessed scans for 198 SCD patients and 180 controls.

Results

• In 58% of the SCD group and 20% of the controls, renal cysts were detected (OR 5.4 (CI 2.6–11.0), RR 2.8 (CI 1.9–4.2)).
• Researchers found bilateral renal cysts in 28% of the SCD participants in comparison with 5% of the control group.
• Findings demonstrated that in those who had one or more cysts, the average number of cysts was 3.76 for the SCD group and 1.94 for the controls.
• In addition, compared with females, males with SCD were more likely to develop cysts (66% vs 53%), as were men without SCD (22% vs 17%).