Transcranial doppler ultrasonography (TCD) in infants with sickle cell anemia: baseline data from the BABY HUG trial.
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).
Pavlakis
Steven G
SG
Maimonides Infants and Children's Hospital/Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York 11219, USA. spavlakis@maimonidesmed.org
Rees
Renée C
RC
Huang
Xiangke
X
Brown
R Clark
RC
Casella
James F
JF
Iyer
Rathi V
RV
Kalpatthi
Ram
R
Luden
Judy
J
Miller
Scott T
ST
Rogers
Zora R
ZR
Thornburg
Courtney D
CD
Wang
Winfred C
WC
Adams
Robert J
RJ
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