Neonatal screening and clinical care programmes for sickle cell disorders in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from pilot studies

Public Health ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 122 (9) ◽  
pp. 933-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Tshilolo ◽  
E. Kafando ◽  
M. Sawadogo ◽  
F. Cotton ◽  
F. Vertongen ◽  
...  
Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 834-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Cherif Rahimy ◽  
Annick Gangbo ◽  
Gilbert Ahouignan ◽  
Roselyn Adjou ◽  
Chantal Deguenon ◽  
...  

Abstract Clinical severity of sickle cell anemia (SS) in Africa may not be solely determined by genetic factors. This study evaluated the effects of intensive parental education and adequate clinical care on the course of SS in children in Benin. SS children referred to the National Teaching Hospital in Cotonou were included in the study. Teaching about SS was repeated frequently, emphasizing the importance of keeping clinic appointments, improving the nutrition of the affected children, and instituting antipneumococcal and antimalarial prophylaxis. Frequency and severity of SS-related events, changes in physical growth, frequency of malarial attacks, causes of transfusion, and causes of death were the principal variables assessed. 236 young children with repeated SS-related acute complications were studied from July 1, 1993, to December 31, 1999 (983 patient-years). A marked reduction in the frequency and severity of SS-related acute events was observed. Improvement in general status and physical growth was noted in 184 patients (78%); in addition, 22 of the remaining 52 patients showed similar improvement after remotivating the parents for compliance. There were 10 deaths, primarily in this cohort of 52 patients. Intensive sociomedical intervention can produce sustained clinical improvement in many severely ill SS children in sub-Saharan Africa.


Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 2070-2070
Author(s):  
Jonathan Brett Heimlich ◽  
Godwin Chipoka ◽  
Portia Kamthunzi ◽  
Yuri D. Fedoriw ◽  
Nigel S. Key ◽  
...  

Abstract Sickle cell disease (SCD) is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa; however, there are relatively few studies describing the clinical profile for children with laboratory-confirmed SCD. Prior to December 2014, neither neonatal screening nor standardized methods for SCD diagnosis were routinely available in Malawi, as hemoglobin electrophoresis and alternative diagnostic methods were absent. We describe implementation of hemoglobin electrophoresis for children with clinically suspected SCD at Kamuzu Central Hospital, one of two national teaching hospitals in Malawi. Children with clinically suspected SCD were recruited January - May 2015 and underwent comprehensive clinical and laboratory characterization. 137 total patients were recruited and 117 were confirmed to have HbSS disease. Among children who were being cared for as SCD prior to enrollment, 86% had HbSS suggesting generally accurate clinical diagnosis by local providers. Baseline clinical parameters and self-reported SCD complications for the study population are displayed in Table 1. Of those with confirmed SCD, median age was 7.3 years (IQR 2.7-10.4) with 53% males. Prior malaria was reported by 39% of patients, and was higher in the 0-5 age group compared with the over 5 age group (46% vs. 31%, p=0.03). The most commonly reported SCD complications were anemia (72%), joint pain (56%), jaundice (52%), and acute pain episodes (50%). Children with confirmed SCD had median hemoglobin of 7.3 g/dL (IQR 6.9-7.9), total bilirubin of 1.7 mg/dL (IQR 1.1-2.6) and lactate dehydrogenase of 658 IU/L (IQR 527-773). Urinalysis demonstrated 26% of patients with blood and 7% with proteinuria by dipstick. As of May 2015, more than 250 samples for enrolled children as well as routine clinical care had been batch-processed weekly with an average turn-around time of 36 hours for results. Three Malawian laboratory technicians were trained to perform hemoglobin electrophoresis, all of whom have been performing the test independently since April 2015. Our findings highlight a need for wider implementation of resource-appropriate diagnostics as an essential foundation for care and research. Children had substantial clinical and laboratory evidence of SCD-related morbidity. Earlier diagnosis can improve care for this population by facilitating earlier therapeutic interventions, as well as providing a basis for research to better understand SCD-related morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. These efforts can ultimately inform management strategies to improve outcomes and increase life expectancy among children with SCD in Malawi. Table 1. All (n=117) Male (n= 62) Female (n=55) p value Age years, median (IQR) 7.3 (2.7-10.4) 5.3 (2.3-9.4) 8.9 (4.2-11.9) 0.004 Height cm, median (IQR, n) 115 (88-131, 60) 111 (89-128, 36) 119.5 (93-140, 24) 0.21 Weight kg, median (IQR, n) 19 (13-27, 108) 16.5 (12-23.6, 58) 21 (14-30, 50) 0.01 Blood Pressure Systolic mmHg, median (IQR, n) 103 (98-110, 83) 101 (94-108, 43) 103 (99-110, 40) 0.37 Blood Pressure Diastolic mmHg, median (IQR, n) 60 (55-65, 83) 58 (53-65, 43) 61 (56-68, 40) 0.13 Heart Rate BPM, median (IQR, n) 104 (91-118, 114) 105 (94-123, 61) 104 (88-112, 53) 0.15 O2 Saturation %, median (IQR, n) 93 (88-97, 108) 91 (85-96, 59) 95 (91-98, 49) 0.004 % Hypoxemic (SPO2 < 90%), n (%) 36 (30.7) 26 (41.9) 10 (18.2) 0.005 Body Temperature Celsius, median (IQR, n) 37 (36.7-37.4, 91) 37 (36.7-37, 46) 37 (36.4-37.2, 45) 0.22 Positive History of: Malaria, n (%) 45 (38.5) 22 23 0.34 0-5 years, n (%) 25 (46.3) - - 0.03 6-18 years, n (%) 20 (31.7) - - Pneumonia, n (%) 29 (24.8) 10 (16.1) 19 (34.5) 0.02 HIV, n (%) 0 0 0 - Anemia, n (%) 84 (71.8) 49 (79.0) 35 (63.6) 0.06 Pallor, n (%) 16 (13.7) 7 (11.3) 9 (16.4) 0.43 Jaundice, n (%) 61 (52.1) 33 (53.2) 28 (50.9) 0.82 Received Blood Transfusion, n (%) 87 (74.4) 47 (75.8) 40 (72.7) 0.47 Days since last transfusion, median (IQR) 316 (133-1144) 240 (111-410) 577 (180-1784) 0.03 Pain episodes, n (%) 58 (49.6) 27 (43.5) 31 (56.4) 0.16 Joint pain, n (%) 66 (56.4) 33 (53.2) 33 (60.0) 0.34 Dactylitis, n (%) 41 (35.0) 19 (30.6) 22 (40.0) 0.29 Leg ulcers, n (%) 5 (4.3) 5 (8.1) 0 0.03 Stroke, n (%) 10 (8.5) 5 (8.1) 5 (9.1) 0.84 Nocturnal Enuresis, n (%) 24 (20.5) 12 (19.4) 12 (21.8) 0.74 Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Author(s):  
Arafa Said Salim ◽  
Emmy Mwita ◽  
Joseph Sarfo Antwi ◽  
Olamide Agunkejoye ◽  
Paul Mdliva

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adebayo C Atanda ◽  
Yahya Aliyu ◽  
Oluwafunmilayo Atanda ◽  
Aliyu Babadoko ◽  
Aisha Suleiman ◽  
...  

Introduction: Anemia has been implicated in heart failure. Existing literatures, involving predominantly African-Americans, suggests that Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) maybe linked to various cardiovascular complications including pulmonary hypertension and left venticular dysfunction. Peculiarly, our study involves exclusively Sub-Saharan population. Method: We conducted a cross sectional observational study of 208 hydroxyurea-naive consecutive SCD patients aged 10-52 years at steady state and 94 healthy non-matched controls who were studied in an out patient clinic in Sub-Saharan Africa. SCD patients were required to have electrophoretic or liquid chromatography documentation of major sickling phenotypes. Control group was required to have non-sickling phenotypes. Cardiac measurements were performed with TransThoracic Echo according to American Society of Echocardiography guidelines. Hemoglobin level was also obtained. Results: Hemoglobin level in SCD group (8.5+/- 1.5) was significant (P<0.001) compared to control (13.8+/- 1.7). Although SCD group had significantly higher values of left ventricular (LV) size, there was no qualitative evidence of LV dysfunction. SCD group had higher values of Ejection Fraction but not statistically significant. There was no evidence of LV wall stiffening to impair proper filling in SCD group, with the ratio of early to late ventricular filling velocities, E/A ratio elevated (1.7+/-0.4 compared to 1.6+/- 0.4; P=0.010). Right ventricular systolic pressure was determined using the formula of 4x Tricuspid Reugurgitant jet (TRV) square as an indirect measurement of Pulmonary arterial systolic pressure. SCD patients had significantly higher mean±SD values for tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity than did the controls (2.1±0.6 vs. 1.8±0.5; p= 0.001). Within the SCD group, there was no clear pattern of worsening diastolic function with increased TRV. Furthermore, E/A had a significant positive relationship with jet velocity in bivariate analysis (R=0.20; P=0.013). Conclusions: We were unable to demonstrate existence of anemia-associated left ventricular dysfunction in Sub-Saharan African with SCD. Further studies is required to highlight the reason behind this finding.


Blood ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (Suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 759-759
Author(s):  
Robert Opoka ◽  
Christopher Ndugwa ◽  
Teresa S. Latham ◽  
Adam Lane ◽  
Heather Ann Hume ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. Hydroxyurea treatment is recommended for children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) living in high-resource malaria-free regions, but its safety and efficacy in malaria-endemic settings such as sub-Saharan Africa, where the greatest sickle cell burden exists, remain unknown. In vitro studies suggest hydroxyurea could increase malaria severity, through upregulation of intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) that facilitates parasite adhesion to endothelium. In addition, hydroxyurea-associated neutropenia could worsen infections that occur in low-resource settings. Methods. NOHARM (NCT01976416) was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial conducted in malaria-endemic Uganda. Children between the ages of 1.00-3.99 years were enrolled, and then received 12-months of blinded treatment with either hydroxyurea or placebo at 20 ± 2.5 mg/kg/day, with dose adjustments in both arms for weight gain and hematological toxicities. All participants received standard care for SCA including folic acid, penicillin prophylaxis, and pneumococcal vaccination. For malaria prophylaxis, children received insecticide-treated mosquito nets and monthly sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine. The primary outcome was incidence of clinical malaria. Secondary outcomes included SCA-related adverse events, clinical and laboratory effects, and hematological toxicities. After completing the blinded treatment phase, all participants were offered open-label hydroxyurea, as per local Ethics Committee recommendations. Results. Study participants (median age 2.2 years) received either hydroxyurea (N=104) or placebo (N=103) for 12-months. Malaria occurred at a low rate throughout the study. The malaria incidence did not differ between children on hydroxyurea [0.05 episodes/child/year, 95% CI (0.02, 0.13)] versus placebo [0.07 episodes/child/year (0.03, 0.16)]. The hydroxyurea/placebo malaria incidence rate ratio was 0.7 [(0.2, 2.7), p=0.61], and time to infection did not differ significantly between treatment arms. A composite SCA-related clinical outcome (vaso-occlusive painful crisis, dactylitis, acute chest syndrome, splenic sequestration, or blood transfusion) was less frequent with hydroxyurea (45%) than placebo (69%, p=0.001). For individual clinical events, vaso-occlusive pain and hospitalizations were significantly less frequent with hydroxyurea than placebo; the number needed to treat to prevent one hospitalization was 6.4, while the number needed to treat to prevent a SCA-related event was 2.5. Serious adverse events, sepsis episodes, and dose-limiting toxicities were similar between treatment arms. Specifically, low hemoglobin (&lt;6.0 g/dL) occurred more frequently in children receiving placebo than hydroxyurea, while the frequencies of neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and reticulocytopenia did not differ significantly between treatment arms. Three deaths occurred (two hydroxyurea, one placebo, none from malaria). Children receiving hydroxyurea had significantly increased hemoglobin concentration and fetal hemoglobin, along with decreased leukocytes, neutrophils, and reticulocytes. Conclusions. In this prospective randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial of young children with SCA living in Uganda, hydroxyurea therapy was both safe and efficacious. Based on these NOHARM data, hydroxyurea treatment appears safe for children with SCA living in malaria-endemic sub-Saharan Africa, without increased risk for severe malaria, infections, or adverse events. Hydroxyurea provides predicted SCA-related laboratory and clinical efficacy, but the optimal dosing and monitoring regimens for affected children in Africa remain undefined. Disclosures Ware: Agios: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Addmedica: Research Funding; Nova Laboratories: Consultancy; Global Blood Therapeutics: Consultancy.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 993-993
Author(s):  
Leon Tshilolo ◽  
George A. Tomlinson ◽  
Patrick T. McGann ◽  
Teresa S. Latham ◽  
Peter Olupot-Olupot ◽  
...  

Introduction. Children with sickle cell anemia enrolled in Realizing Effectiveness Across Continents with Hydroxyurea (REACH, NCT01966731) received open-label hydroxyurea at maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in four countries within sub-Saharan Africa (Tshilolo et al, NEJM 2019;380:121-131). Unlike children in the United States or Europe, a substantial proportion of REACH participants had splenomegaly at enrollment, and more developed splenomegaly while receiving hydroxyurea. Splenic enlargement in association with hydroxyurea treatment in sub-Saharan Africa is previously unrecognized, and its causes and consequences remain unclear. Methods. Palpable splenomegaly was evaluated at both the mid-clavicular and mid-axillary lines at each scheduled and unscheduled sick visit. The size of the spleen, defined as the greatest distance (cm) below the subcostal margin, was recorded in the REDCap trial database at all four clinical sites. Cross-sectional analysis was performed at baseline enrollment using four spleen categories (Not Palpable, 1-4 cm, ≥5 cm, or Splenectomy) with correlations for age, sex, site, growth parameters, alpha-thalassemia trait and G6PD deficiency. This analysis was repeated using the largest spleen size over the first two years on hydroxyurea, but examining two-year laboratory values and also the hydroxyurea dose at MTD, time to MTD, dose-limiting toxicities, and clinical outcomes including acute splenic sequestration, malaria infections, and sepsis. Results. A total of 606 children started hydroxyurea study treatment, including 6 (1.0%) with previous splenectomy, 59 (9.7%) with previous splenic sequestration, and 99 (16.3%) with palpable splenomegaly at enrollment (52 children with 1-4 cm and 47 with ≥5 cm). Large spleens (≥5 cm) were commonly observed at baseline at all clinical sites except Uganda, which identified only 1 child. Compared to those with no palpable spleen, children with large spleens at baseline had similar age and growth parameters, but were significantly more likely to have alpha-thalassemia (78.7% versus 56.2%, P=0.004) and also G6PD deficiency among males (28.0% versus 17.6%, P=0.32). Children with large spleens at enrollment also had a lower hemoglobin (Hb = 6.5 versus 7.3 g/dL, P&lt;0.001) and lower platelet count (platelets = 227 versus 410 x 109/L, P&lt;0.001), but equivalent fetal hemoglobin (HbF = 10.2 versus 9.4%, P=0.82). On hydroxyurea treatment with escalation to MTD, 262 children (43.7%) had palpable splenomegaly recorded, including 120 (20.0%) with spleens ≥5 cm. These large spleens were observed at all four clinical sites, with DRC having the most (52) and Uganda with the least (14). After 24 months of hydroxyurea treatment, laboratory differences were noted according to the cumulative occurrence of splenomegaly including a significantly lower hemoglobin and platelet count, higher absolute reticulocyte count, and lower hydroxyurea dose at MTD (Table). Large spleens were associated with a high cumulative incidence of laboratory dose-limiting toxicities, as well as a significantly higher risk of having clinically symptomatic malaria and receiving blood transfusions (Table). A total of 31 children (5.2%) on hydroxyurea treatment received elective splenectomy, including one partial splenectomy using arterial embolization. Conclusion. Children with sickle cell anemia living in sub-Saharan Africa have an increased risk of having palpable splenomegaly, which is further increased while receiving hydroxyurea treatment. Large spleen at baseline were associated with lower blood counts, consistent with hypersplenism. On hydroxyurea treatment, children with large spleens had significantly lower blood counts and more dose-limiting toxicities, which lowered their eventual hydroxyurea dose at MTD but still led to robust HbF responses. Children with large spleens were also at higher risk of developing malaria infections, receiving transfusions, and requiring surgical splenectomy. Splenic enlargement in association with hydroxyurea treatment was common in children with sickle cell anemia in the REACH trial; its cause remains unclear but the consequences include substantial laboratory toxicity and clinical morbidity. Investigating the etiologies and management of children with chronically enlarged spleens is crucial before expanding hydroxyurea access across Africa for sickle cell anemia. Disclosures Ware: Global Blood Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb: Other: Research Drug Donation; Nova Laboratories: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; CSL Behring: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Other: DSMB; Agios: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Addmedica: Other: Research Drug Donation.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 2173-2173
Author(s):  
Arwa Fraiwan ◽  
Muhammad Noman Hasan ◽  
Ran An ◽  
Amy J. Rezac ◽  
Nicholas J. Kocmich ◽  
...  

Nigeria leads the world in the number of cases of sickle cell disease (SCD). An estimated 150,000 babies are born annually in Nigeria with SCD, a heredity disorder, and 70-90% die before age 5. Only a small portion of affected infants and children in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) reach adolescence. Over 650 children die per day in sub-Saharan Africa from SCD. These dismal statistics are in sharp contrast to outcomes in high-income countries (HICs) where more than 90% of SCD patients reach adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 70% of deaths could be prevented with a low cost diagnostic and treatment plan. Meaningful preventive care and treatment cannot be implemented without a structured plan for early diagnosis and patient tracking.Early diagnosis requires improved access to parents and guardians of children with SCD, and gaining this access remains a challenge in most of SSA. In 2015, Nigeria's Kano state government, with support from foreign partners, established a community-based program for newborn registration. This platform provides unique access to newborn babies in one of Nigeria's most populous cities, but still lacks a functioning patient testing, tracking, and monitoring system, which we plan to address in our ongoing study. This study will introduce mobile health in a low-income country with low literacy rate and hopefully accustom that segment of the population to more varied mobile health applications that will ultimately improve their health in the long run. Our current operational platform in Kano, Nigeria provides access to a large population with a high prevalence of SCD. We have previously completed pilot testing of 315 subjects for SCD using our microchip electrophoresis test. We are planning to test up to 4,500 additional subjects less than 5 years of age at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital. The hospital staff includes 97 physicians and 415 nurses and outpatient clinics serve about 30,000 patients monthly. The maternity department has a 200-bed capacity and the antenatal clinic performs about 1,000 deliveries and serves an average of 3,000 mothers monthly. Enrollment is planned to start on September 15, 2019 and medical staff are currently being trained to run the tests. Our study is registered in the United States National Library of Medicine's ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03948516). Our technology is uniquely paired with an automatic reader and an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and patient management solution to record POC test results, register new cases, and track patients for follow-up (Fig. 1). The reader enables automated interpretation of test results, local and remote test data storage, and includes geolocation (Global Positioning System) (Fig. 2). The system will generate reports for all cases of SCD, track hospital visits, appointments, lab tests, and will have mobile and dashboard applications for tracking patients and samples. The application will be installed on mobile devices provided to users. The proposed system will be compliant with the existing privacy standards to handle medical data (e.g., HIPAA in the US and GDPR in the EU). All communications between the parties will be secured via end-to-end encryption as a safeguard. We anticipate that our project will increase the rates of screening, diagnosis and timely treatment of SCD in Kano State of Nigeria. The project's broader impact will likely be the ability to track and monitor screening, disease detection, diagnosis and treatment, which can be scaled up to the whole nation of Nigeria, then to sub-Saharan Africa. The data obtained and analyzed will be the first of their kind and will be used to inform the design of programs to improve access to, and availability of, effective care for this underserved populations. The importance of increased access to diagnosis and treatment should not be underestimated - it is crucial for realizing effective management of people with SCD. The impact can be enhanced by complementing diagnosis and patient tracking with education for the families so they can provide or seek the necessary preventative treatment. Identification of the location of the patients in need would help identify the areas where family, parent, caregiver education should be provided. Disclosures Fraiwan: Hemex Health, Inc.: Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. Hasan:Hemex Health, Inc.: Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties. An:Hemex Health, Inc.: Patents & Royalties. Thota:Hemex Health, Inc.: Employment. Gurkan:Hemex Health, Inc.: Consultancy, Employment, Equity Ownership, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document