Chest syndrome is a common cause of hospitalization in children with sickle cell disease. It is clinically similar to pneumonia. Chest syndrome can be fatal in the child with sickle cell disease.

Chest syndrome is the result of sickling in the lungs. It is believed that sickled cells clump up in the small blood vessels in the lungs or move there from some place else in the body. This may be triggered by a lung infection like pneumonia. Chest syndrome may develop right before, during, or after an episode of pain in the abdomen or bones