Category: Sickle Cell News for October 2019

Antibiotics for treating acute chest syndrome in people with sickle cell disease.

The clinical presentation of acute chest syndrome is similar whether due to infectious or non-infectious causes, thus antibiotics are usually prescribed to treat all episodes. Many different pathogens, including bacteria, have been implicated as causative agents of acute chest syndrome. There is no standardized approach to antibiotic therapy and treatment is likely to vary from …

Newborn Screening for Sickle Cell Disease Using Point-of-Care Testing in Low-Income Setting.

BACKGROUND: Newborn screening provides early diagnosis for children with sickle cell disease (SCD), reducing disease-related mortality. We hypothesized that rapid point-of-care (POC) Sickle SCAN would be reliable in Haiti and would assist newborn screening. METHODS: Dried blood specimens were obtained from infant heel sticks and analyzed by isoelectric focusing (IEF) at a public hospital in …