Discontinuing prophylactic transfusions increases the risk of silent brain infarction in children with sickle cell disease: data from STOP II.

ABSTRACT: In the STOP II trial, discontinuation of prophylactic transfusions in high risk children with sickle cell disease (SCD) resulted in a high rate of reversion to abnormal blood-flow velocities on transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography and strokes. We analyzed data from STOP II to determine the effect of discontinuing transfusions on the development or progression of silent brain infarcts on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). At study entry, 21 of 79 (27%) patients had evidence of silent infarcts. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics between patients with normal brain MRI or silent infarcts at study entry. At study end, 3 of 37 (8.1%) patients in the continued-transfusion group developed new brain MRI lesions compared with 11 of 40 (27.5%) in the

SUBMITTER: Abboud MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3148169 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature