20th February 2025

A patient with sickle cell disease presents to hospital with rib and leg pain that is thought to be from a vaso-occlusive crisis.

A patient with sickle cell disease presents to hospital with rib and leg pain that is thought to be from a vaso-occlusive crisis. They are admitted to hospital for ongoing analgesia. Four days after admission they develop a fever and cough with mild dyspnoea and a new oxygen requirement. On examination of the chest crepitations can be heard in the right lower zone with no other added sounds and chest x-ray identifies new pulmonary infiltrates in the right lower lobe. Given the likely diagnosis, which of the following would form part of the initial management?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.