Background: Patients hospitalized for vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) frequently report dissatisfaction with pain management, which is exacerbated by variability in treatment approaches across healthcare providers. Negative provider perceptions, stigmatized language in the electronic medical record, and misperceptions of appropriate pain management are associated with undertreatment of pain, prolonged hospitalizations, and worse disease-specific outcomes. Effective management of [...]

Background: Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) often face frequent emergency department (ED) visits and hospital readmissions, primarily driven by challenges in pain management, stigma, and system-level barriers. Existing interventions at the CU Division of Hospital Medicine, such as cohorting patients with specific teams, multidisciplinary care conferences, and implementing care plans for high-utilizer patients, have [...]

Case Presentation: A 26-year-old male with HbSS sickle cell disease and a history of recurrent hospitalizations for vaso-occlusive crises, requiring a right chest port for pain management and IV fluids, presented with sepsis and an acute vaso-occlusive crisis. Initial infectious workup, including chest X-ray, CT of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and urinalysis, was unremarkable. [...]