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Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on April 17, 2003; DOI 10.1182/blood-2002-05-1453. This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 2002-05-1453v1 102/3/834    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rahimy, M. C. Articles by Alihonou, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rahimy, M. C. Articles by Alihonou, E. Social Bookmarking                   What's this? Submitted May 17, 2002 Accepted April 2, 2003 Effect of a comprehensive clinical care program on disease course in severely ill children with sickle cell anemia in a sub-Sahara Africa setting Mohamed Cherif Rahimy*, Annick Gangbo, Gilbert Ahouignan, Roselyn Adjou, Chantal Deguenon, Stephanie Goussanou, and Eusebe Alihonou Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cotonou, Benin * Corresponding author; email: mrahimy{at}syfed.bj.refer.org. Rational: Clinical severity of sickle cell anemia (SS) in Africa may not be solely determined by genetic factors. Objective: To evaluate the effects of intensive parental education and adequate clinical care on the course of SS in children in Benin. Methods: SS children referred to the National Teaching Hospital in Cotonou were included in the study. Teaching about SS was repeated frequently, emphasizing the importance of keeping clinic appointments, improvement of the nutrition of the affected children and institution of anti-pneumococcal and anti-malarial prophylaxis. Frequency and severity of SS-related events, changes in physical growth, frequency of malarial attacks, causes of transfusion, and causes of death were the principal variables assessed. Results: 236 young children with repeated SS-related acute complications were studied from July 1, 1993 to December 31, 1999 (983 patient-years). A marked reduction in the frequency and severity of SCD-related acute events was observed. Improvement in general status and physical growth was noted in 184 patients (78%): in addition 22 of the remaining 52 patients showed similar improvement after re-motivating of the parents for compliance. There were 10 deaths, primarily in this cohort of 52 patients. Conclusion: Intensive socio-medical intervention can produce sustained clinical improvement in many severely ill SS children in sub-Saharan Africa. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this? This article has been cited by other articles: L Tshilolo, L M Aissi, D Lukusa, C Kinsiama, S Wembonyama, B Gulbis, and F Vertongen Neonatal screening for sickle cell anaemia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: experience from a pioneer project on 31 204 newborns J. Clin. Pathol., January 1, 2009; 62(1): 35 - 38. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] M C Rahimy, A Gangbo, G Ahouignan, and E Alihonou Newborn screening for sickle cell disease in the Republic of Benin J. Clin. Pathol., January 1, 2009; 62(1): 46 - 48. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] B J Bain Neonatal/newborn haemoglobinopathy screening in Europe and Africa J. Clin. Pathol., January 1, 2009; 62(1): 53 - 56. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] I. Roberts and M. de Montalembert Sickle cell disease as a paradigm of immigration hematology: new challenges for hematologists in Europe Haematologica, July 1, 2007; 92(7): 865 - 871. [Full Text] [PDF] D. Weatherall, K. Hofman, G. Rodgers, J. Ruffin, and S. Hrynkow A case for developing North-South partnerships for research in sickle cell disease Blood, February 1, 2005; 105(3): 921 - 923. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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