Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) and its vasoocclusive sequela are significant causes of morbidity and mortality as well as acute care utilization throughout the United States, with an estimated 92,880 hospital admissions totaling $759 million in aggregate annual costs in 2014. There is a need within health care systems to identify strategies for achieving higher [...]

Background: Nationally, a minority of patients with complex medical and psychosocial needs consume a disproportionate amount of healthcare. In the U.S. in 2015, the top 1% of the population accounted for 23% of all healthcare expenditures and cost ten times more per year than the average patient. No one disease accounts for a large percentage, [...]

Background: Vaso-occlusive acute pain crises are the leading cause for hospitalization in adult sickle cell patients. For our academic hospitalist group at a quaternary care center in New York, acute pain crises in 2017 accounted for 65 admissions, with an average length of stay (LOS) of 10.28 days, and readmission index (observed-over-expected ) of 1.10. [...]

Background: A vaso-occlusive episode (VOE) is a common complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). The most common presentation of VOE is pain that, if undertreated, can lead to life-threatening complications. Nearly all persons with SCD will have a VOE, however, data show that patients frequently receive inadequate analgesia when being treated for acute pain related [...]

Case Presentation: We present a case of 26-year-old female presented with acute ischemic stroke. She presented with altered mental status from Rehabilitation center. She has history of sickle cell and recurrent strokes in the past. Extensive prior work up for recurrent strokes was done and she was thought to have Moyamoya disease. Before this presentation, [...]