Intracranial vasculopathy and infarct recurrence in children with sickle cell anaemia, silent cerebral infarcts and normal transcranial Doppler velocities.

Abstract

We aimed to test the hypothesis that in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA), silent cerebral infarcts (SCIs), and normal transcranial Doppler (TCD) velocities, baseline intracranial vasculopathy (defined by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)) is associated with cerebral infarct recurrence. A total of 110 children with median age of 9.4 years (range 5 to 14 years), enrolled in the Silent Cerebral Infarct Transfusion (SIT) Trial, had MRAs performed at baseline; vasculopathy was present in 2% (2 of 110). Due to the low prevalence, MRA-defined intracranial vasculopathy is not a predictor of cerebral infarct recurrence in children with SCA, SCIs, and normal TCD velocities.