Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited condition with a clinical presentation that may involve multiple body systems. One of main systems involved is the musculoskeletal system with complications including osteomyelitis, avascular necrosis, septic arthritis, osteoporosis, leg ulcers, and growth delay.
Methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-administrated questionnaire was conducted at King Faisal University (KFU), at Al-Ahssa, Saudi Arabia. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used for the data analysis.
Results: There were 212 respondents who answered the questionnaire. Age groups were 18-20, 21-23, 24 and older with the majority (44.8%) being 21-23 years old. Female respondents were more than males with a percentage of 74.5% and 25.5% were males. Medical students in all different years in KFU participated in this study where the most participants (22.6%) were in their internship year. The prevalence of good knowledge was higher with 61.3% while average knowledge accounted for 32.5% and poor knowledge accounted for 6.1%.
Conclusion: The study concludes that 61.3% of medical students at KFU have good knowledge about SCD and its musculoskeletal complications.
Key words: Sickle cell, musculoskeletal complications, medical students
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