Nontraumatic extradural hematoma in sickle cell anemia: A rare neurological complication not to be missed

A 20-year-old black African-Caribbean male (patient 1), known to have sickle cell anemia (SCA) and on hydroxyurea therapy, presented to our hospital with a one day history of chest and lower back pain. He had a history of multiple previous vaso-occlusive crises requiring simple analgesia. At the time of admission, he was afebrile and hemodynamically stable with no abnormalities detected on physical examination. Laboratory values on admission were: hemoglobin (Hb) 117 g/L (usual baseline Hb 110 g/L), hematocrit 37%, white cell count 14.0 × 10(9) /L, reticulocyte count 216 × 10(9) /L, platelets 303 × 10(9) /L, serum creatinine 49 µmol/L, and total serum bilirubin 75 µmol/L.