Results
Twenty-one (11 HbSS, 9 HbSβ0 Thal, and 1 HbSD) out of
the 43 patients in the original study were successfully recalled and
studied. Of the other 22 patients who could not be studied, 11 were away
in college, 6 had changed their phone numbers, and 5 did not give
consent. The mean age of the 21 patients at the time of the initial TCDI
was 6.5±1.2 and at the time of the follow-up scan the mean was 16.0 ±
1.6 years. The mean follow-up was 10.1 ± 3.1 years (range, 7 - 10
years). There was a predominance of girls (62%) over males (38%). All
the patients were on hydroxyurea (HU) between 2012 and 2022.
The patients presented significantly lower mean total Hb, hematocrit,
and bilirubin but significantly higher HbF, platelets, and ANC counts
than in the initial study. The mean LDH, WBC, and reticulocyte count
showed no significant differences. Subjects’ characteristics are
summarized in Table1.
There were significant differences (p<0.05) between old and
follow-up data for all vascular parameters in all vessels. In general,
follow-up SCD patients showed lower values than the old data although
the values were within the normal range in all the cerebral arteries.
All TAMMV values were less than 170 cm/s, and no PSV value exceeded 200
cm/s in any vessel. Normal values of PI (0.5-1.2) and RI (0.5-0.7) were
observed in both old and follow-up studies. The mean ± SD of TAMMV for
old and follow-up data for t-ICA, MCA, ACA, and PCA were 77.3±20.9,
71.6±9.9; 94.3±25.8, 82±18.2; 76.6±25.6, 70.6±10.7; and 59.1±15.8,
63.9±8.5, respectively. There was positive statistically significant
difference for PSV and significant negative differences for RI and PI
(P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference
for EDV and TAMMV (P>0.05). There were no statistically
significant inter-hemispheric differences (p<0.05) in both
groups for all parameters. Results are summarized in Table 2.