Levels of uric acid, urea and creatinine in Iraqi children with sickle cell disease.

OBJECTIVE To determine the levels of serum uric acid, urea and creatinine in subjects with sickle cell disease and compare them to those reported in literature. SETTING Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Basrah. METHODS Plasma uric acid, urea and creatinine was estimated by Varley's method, group of 65 sickle cell patients (35 Hb AS, 30 Hb SS) aged between 2-11 years. The results were compared with those obtained in a group of 45 age and sex-matched controls with normal haemoglobin (Hb AA). RESULTS The uric acid level was elevated in sickle cell patients as compared with the normal control group. The 95% confidence intervals for differences in the mean of the two groups: HbAA vs HbAS was 4.22 (0.3), while for HbAA for HbSS was 3.4 (0.06), both being statistically highly significant [p < 0.0001]. Urea and creatinine levels were considerably lower in the sickle cell disease patients. The difference in the patient's mean for urea compared to the mean in the normal group (Hb AA) was 9.64 (1.95) and 8.55 (1.76) for HbSS and HbAS, respectively. Like wise, the difference in the mean for creatinine in HbSS group was 0.71 (0.12) and in HbAS was 0.76 (0.12), which was statistically significant [p < 0.0001]. CONCLUSION Raised serum uric acid levels were found in Iraqi children with sickle cell disease, creatinine clearance studies will be valuable to assess renal function.