title: Estimated prevalence of sickle cell in northern Haiti.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of sickle hemoglobin in northern Haiti.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sickle cell testing occurred from 2002-2009. Blood samples from 1035 subjects were collected for diagnostic purposes, de-identified, and made available for the study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bethesda Medical Center and Eben-Ezer Clinic in northern Haiti.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study subjects included prenatal patients, their companions, clinic staff and volunteers. All subjects were Haitian and selected to most closely represent healthy patients present at the clinic. Deidentification of the blood samples precluded the need for informed consent.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each subject was tested for sickle hemoglobin using a standard hemoglobin solubility test and results were recorded as either positive or negative.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimated prevalence of sickle hemoglobin was 15.1% with a 95% confidence interval of 12.2-18%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These prevalence rates validate the clinical significance of sickle cell disorder, help guide clinical decisions, and suggest the need to develop intervention programs among the people of northern Haiti.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Doisy College of Health Sciences, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104-1111, USA. randoltr@slu.edu
authors.forename: Tim R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Randolph
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006205:Haiti / Q000453:epidemiology; D006451:Hemoglobin, Sickle / Q000032:analysis; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D006451:Hemoglobin, Sickle; D006454:Hemoglobins