Distribution of sickle cell disease and assessment of risk factors based on transcranial Doppler values in the Gulf region

Background/Objective: Stroke is a potentially fatal complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is useful at identifying increased risk of stroke in children with SCD and vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. The main aim of this study was to determine the proportion of patients with SCD in the Gulf region who are at a high risk of stroke, as determined by TCD. Methods: This multicenter (Oman, Qatar, and UAE), descriptive, cross-sectional study in patients (aged 2–16 years) with SCD included a baseline visit, 1 follow-up visit for patients with conditional TCD, and 3-year retrospective data analysis for all patients. Results: Of the 410 eligible patients (Oman, 86.5%; Qatar, 8.2%; UAE, 5.1%), most had a TCD finding (left side, 91.7%; right side, 92.0%) of normal velocity ( Discussion/Conclusions: The study results show that far fewer patients with SCD in the Gulf have abnormal TCD findings than the internationally reported. Larger studies are needed to identify the factors underlying this observation.

背景与研究目的：脑卒中(Stroke)是镰状细胞病(sickle cell disease, SCD)的潜在致命并发症。经颅多普勒超声(Transcranial Doppler, TCD)可用于筛查镰状细胞病儿童患者的脑卒中高发风险，以及蛛网膜下腔出血(subarachnoid hemorrhage)后的脑血管痉挛(vasospasm)情况。本研究的核心目标为明确海湾地区经TCD检测判定为脑卒中高风险的镰状细胞病患者占比。研究方法：本研究为覆盖阿曼、卡塔尔及阿联酋的多中心描述性横断面研究，纳入年龄2~16岁的镰状细胞病患者。所有受试者均需完成基线访视，经TCD检测结果处于临界范围的患者需追加1次随访，同时对全部患者开展为期3年的回顾性数据分析。研究结果：本研究共纳入410名符合入组标准的患者（阿曼占86.5%、卡塔尔占8.2%、阿联酋占5.1%），其中绝大多数患者的TCD检测结果（左侧91.7%、右侧92.0%）显示血流速度正常。讨论与结论：本研究结果显示，海湾地区镰状细胞病患者的TCD检测异常占比远低于国际已有报道水平。未来需开展更大规模的研究，以明确该现象背后的潜在影响因素。