Abstract

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an important risk factor for stroke in children. Natural history studies demonstrate that greater than 10% of hemoglobin SS patients suffered ischemic stroke prior to age 20 years. In 1998, the Stroke Prevention Trial in Sickle Cell Anemia (STOP) successfully demonstrated the role for routine transfusion therapy in reducing stroke in at risk SCD patients. Fullerton and colleagues then found that first time stroke in SCD decreased in Californian children in the 2 years following STOP. We investigated the stroke rate and health care utilization of children with SCD for two calendar years in the decade following publication of the STOP trial using a national inpatient database. Methods: The 2000 and 2009 Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) were used for analysis. SCD and stroke cases were identified by ICD-9 codes 282.6x, 430, 431, 432.9, 434.X1, 434.9, 435.9. We queried the KID procedural clinical classification software for utilization of services pertinent to SCD and stroke; transfusion, MRI, and cerebral angio. Results: In 2000, SCD was a discharge diagnosis in 34,294 children and 158 (0.46%) children had SCD and stroke. By 2009, discharges with SCD rose to 37,082 children with 212 (0.57%) children carrying both diagnoses. In 2000 and 2009, AIS is the most common stroke type at 83%, males account for 53% of stroke and black race was reported by 92% of SCD and stroke subjects. Procedure utilization is higher in the SCD and stroke population than in SCD without stroke (Figure 1). Blood transfusion is the most common procedure in both study years, significantly higher in stroke subjects. Conclusion: For pediatric inpatients with SCD, blood transfusion and diagnostic cerebrovascular procedures were significantly more common in the cohort with comorbid stroke. In the decade after STOP, children hospitalized with SCD and stroke represented less than 0.6% of the total inpatient SCD population.

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