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Measurement of Cerebral Blood Flow Using Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound in Children With Sickle Cell Disease

NCT02090881 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 25

Last updated 2023-08-14

Study results available
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Summary

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects haemoglobin - the molecule in blood cells which carries oxygen. It causes red blood cells to become abnormal crescent (or sickle)- shaped. Sickled red blood cells cannot travel through small blood vessels as easily as normal red blood cells which can lead to blockages. This means that oxygen may be prevented from getting to where it is needed. Individuals with sickle cell disease also suffer form abnormality in the lining of their blood vessels, which contributes to the damage.

Damage and blockage can occur in the blood vessels in the brain and means that children with sickle cell disease have a significant risk of suffering from strokes. Research has shown that transcranial Doppler ultrasonography can be used in this setting to identify children at most risk of getting strokes.

Ultrasound is therefore used in children with sickle cell disease to measure the blood flow in the vessels in the brain. This research has formed the basis of the National Health Service (NHS) Standard of Care for Sickle Cell Disease in the United Kingdom (UK) which uses transcranial Doppler ultrasonography at once a year to screen children with sickle cell disease aged 2 to 16.

Ultrasound is used because it is portable, does not uses ionising radiation such as x-rays, is non-invasive and gives good results. However, the results are dependent on the operator. This means that the screening service is provided by centres of excellence with experienced scanning staff visiting clinics in smaller hospitals with portable machines. There is a lack of research comparing the use of portable machines to laboratory-based machines. This is important because screening can identify children at high risk of stroke and may be used by clinical staff to make a decision about the care of the child.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Ultrasound scan

Trans cranial Doppler ultrasound examination of cerebral arterial blood flow

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Imperial College London

    collaborator OTHER

  • Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Mohammed Aslam · Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
2 Years
Max Age
16 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2016-11-30
Primary Completion
2017-10-31
Completion
2017-12-31

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02090881 on ClinicalTrials.gov