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Multiple Choice

Which description matches a vaso-occlusive crisis?

Vaso-occlusive crisis happens when sickled red blood cells block small vessels, causing tissue ischemia and severe pain. The hallmark is sudden, intense bone and joint pain from the ischemia, often in multiple sites and frequently described as bilateral and symmetric—felt in the back, legs, knees, arms, chest, and abdomen. Fever can occur, but it isn’t the defining feature; dizziness and nausea are nonspecific. So the description of widespread, bilateral bone pain best matches a vaso-occlusive crisis.

Vaso-occlusive crisis happens when sickled red blood cells block small vessels, causing tissue ischemia and severe pain. The hallmark is sudden, intense bone and joint pain from the ischemia, often in multiple sites and frequently described as bilateral and symmetric—felt in the back, legs, knees, arms, chest, and abdomen. Fever can occur, but it isn’t the defining feature; dizziness and nausea are nonspecific. So the description of widespread, bilateral bone pain best matches a vaso-occlusive crisis.