Abdominal ultrasonography was performed on 305 children with sickle ce
ll disease (SCD) (285 SS and 20 S-beta-thalassemia) to establish the p
revalence of cholelithiasis in Saudi children with SCD, Their ages ran
ged from 1 to 18 years (mean 10.45 years). Gallstones were demonstrate
d in 60 children, giving a prevalence of 19.7%, An additional 50 patie
nts (16.4%) had only biliary sludge. The youngest patient with gallsto
nes was 3 years old. There was a correlation between the presence of g
allstones and increasing age. Patients with gallstones were also found
to have higher serum bilirubin levels, but their hemoglobin, hematocr
it, reticulocyte count, hemoglobin S, and hemoglobin F levels were not
significantly different from those of patients without gallstones.