MBBS OSCE · General Medicine
OSCE — Sickle Cell Disease
Eight-minute OSCE station on Sickle Cell Disease: focused history, examination priorities, investigations, emergency and definitive management.
On this page
Study tools
Exam tags
Brief (to candidate)
You will assess a patient with a presentation consistent with Sickle Cell Disease.
You have 8 minutes to take a focused history, outline examination, investigations, and management including red flags.
Clinical context
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an autosomal recessive haemoglobinopathy caused by a single glutamic-acid-to-valine substitution at position 6 of beta-globin (Glu6Val, HBB on chromosome 11p15.5) producing haemoglobin S (HbS), which polymerises under deoxygenation into rigid fibres that distort the red cell into a sickle. The consequences are vaso-occlusion, chronic haemolysis and endothelial dysfunction: chronic haemolytic anaemia punctuated by vaso-occlusive painful crises, acute chest syndrome (the leading cause of death), stroke, splenic sequestration and functional asplenia, aplastic crisis (parvovirus B19), priapism, avascular necrosis, leg ulcers, renal papillary necrosis and proliferativ
Candidate tasks
- Clarify onset, severity, associated features, and red-flag symptoms.
- State focused examination priorities.
- List first-line investigations and any named score/criteria.
- Give immediate resuscitation steps.
- Outline definitive management with doses/routes where standard.
- Name complications and disposition (ward / HDU / theatre / discharge safety-net).
- Mention one special-population modifier (pregnancy, child, elderly, CKD).
Examiner checklist
| Domain | Pass behaviours |
|---|---|
| Definition | Correct working diagnosis language |
| Assessment | Focused, prioritised, red flags sought |
| Investigations | Appropriate first-line + interpretation |
| Emergency care | ABC / time-critical actions first |
| Definitive care | Specific drugs/procedures, not generic phrases |
| Safety | Sickle cell patient with chest pain, hypoxia and a new infiltrate — acute chest |
| Safety | New neurological deficit in a sickle cell patient — stroke; emergency exchange t |
| Safety | Sudden severe pallor and an enlarging spleen in an infant — acute splenic seques |
| Communication | Clear plan and safety-netting |
Model outline
Lead with the working diagnosis and life threats. Resuscitate before definitive tests when unstable. Use guideline-standard therapy with named agents and doses. Document escalation criteria and follow-up. A safe candidate is specific, structured, and never delays critical care for non-urgent imaging.