Bi-Level Positive Airway Ventilation for Acute Chest Syndrome

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a frequent complication of sickle cell disease and is diagnosed by having findings on a chest x-ray and one of the following: chest pain, fever, or trouble breathing. Patients with Acute Chest Syndrome can get very sick and require an exchange transfusion (special large blood transfusion) and mechanical ventilation. Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (also known as BLPAP or BiPAP) is a device that blows air into a patients lungs via a mask that covers the nose. The goal of this study is to determine whether giving children BiPAP when they have ACS, in addition to providing standard clinical care for ACS, alters the clinical course of these patients. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving effective BiPAP will have milder clinical courses resulting in shorter hospital stays and fewer transfers to the intensive care unit and exchange transfusions.