title: Transcranial doppler ultrasonography (TCD) in infants with sickle cell anemia: baseline data from the BABY HUG trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) is used to predict stroke risk in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA), but has not been adequately studied in children under age 2 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  TCD was performed on infants with SCA enrolled in the BABY HUG trial. Subjects were 7-17 months of age (mean 12.6 months). TCD examinations were successfully performed in 94% of subjects (n = 192).
  
  
  RESULTS
  No patient had an abnormal TCD as defined in the older child (time averaged maximum mean TAMM velocity > or =200 cm/sec) and only four subjects (2%) had velocities in the conditional range (170-199 cm/sec). TCD velocities were inversely related to hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and directly related to increasing age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Determination of whether the TCD values in this very young cohort of infants with SCA can be used to predict stroke risk later in childhood will require analysis of exit TCD's and long-term follow-up, which is ongoing (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00006400).
authors.affiliation: Maimonides Infants and Children's Hospital/Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York 11219, USA. spavlakis@maimonidesmed.org
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Pavlakis
authors.forename: Renée C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: Xiangke
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: R Clark
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Casella
authors.forename: Rathi V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Iyer
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kalpatthi
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luden
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Zora R
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Courtney D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Thornburg
authors.forename: Winfred C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D020521:Stroke / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial