Anam E. Shoulder complications in sickle cell disease: Challenges, management strategies, and future directions. World J Orthop 2025; 16(11): 112198 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i11.112198]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Emad Anam, Assistant Professor, FRCS, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, 7053 Alfyha District, Jeddah 33335, Saudi Arabia. em2009@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Nov 18, 2025 (publication date) through Nov 20, 2025
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Orthopedics
ISSN
2218-5836
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Anam E. Shoulder complications in sickle cell disease: Challenges, management strategies, and future directions. World J Orthop 2025; 16(11): 112198 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i11.112198]
World J Orthop. Nov 18, 2025; 16(11): 112198 Published online Nov 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i11.112198
Shoulder complications in sickle cell disease: Challenges, management strategies, and future directions
Emad Anam
Emad Anam, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 33335, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Anam E designed, organized, and wrote the manuscript. Also, the author is responsible for the content and the integrity of this review.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Emad Anam, Assistant Professor, FRCS, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, 7053 Alfyha District, Jeddah 33335, Saudi Arabia. em2009@hotmail.com
Received: July 21, 2025 Revised: August 21, 2025 Accepted: October 24, 2025 Published online: November 18, 2025 Processing time: 116 Days and 22.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This comprehensive narrative review highlights the challenges of managing shoulder complications in sickle cell disease (SCD) which discusses a critical and underexplored part of this disease. The review synthesizes current evidence on the three primary complications avascular necrosis, osteomyelitis, and septic arthritis. SCD leads to chronic hemolysis and vaso-occlousive crisis contribute to ischemic damage, with humeral head avascular necrosis often underdiagnosed due to overlapping symptoms with other conditions. Early diagnosis and differentiation rely on advanced imaging and laboratory tests. Management includes pain control, core decompression for early stages, and arthroplasty for advanced cases. Given the scarcity of research on shoulder pathology in SCD, larger, long-term studies are needed to refine treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.
