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Volume 4
Journal of Pediatric Care
ISSN: 2471-805X
Page 48
JOINT EVENT
August 06-07, 2018 Madrid, Spain
&
2
nd
Edition of International Conference on
Adolescent Health & Medicine
18
th
International Conference on
Pediatrics Health
Pediatrics Health 2018
&
Adolescent Health 2018
August 06-07, 2018
Transcranial doppler scan implementation in sickle cell patients at a paediatric hospital in South East
London
Ashleigh Draper
King's College London, UK
S
ickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic condition associated with a plethora of complications, with stroke being one of the
most prevalent. By the age of 20, 11% of patients with homozygous SCD will have suffered a stroke secondary to their
condition. Transcranial doppler scans (TCD) can be used to assess the risk of this complication by measuring cerebral artery
blood flow velocity. The objective of this audit was to assess uptake of TCD scans in a sickle cell patient cohort, and to
investigate adherence to repeat TCD scans at the Evelina Children's Hospital. A total of 166 patients fulfilled the inclusion
criteria, and TCD outcomes yielded 93% with normal results, 6% with conditional results, and 1% with an abnormal result.
Patient adherence across all patients under investigation was less than 60%; an underwhelming figure compared to the 90%
recommendation set by national guidelines. Reasons proposed for this disparity may include outside commitments of older
patients, the inconvenience of taking time out of work for parents/guardians, and potentially a lack of understanding regarding
the significance of TCD scan results. All can invariably have a negative impact on scan adherence. The proposed intervention
includes a mobile phone texting service one week before scans; alerting patients of the upcoming appointment. It may also
be beneficial to implement leaflet distribution to parents/guardians, to outline the importance of scans and the value of
ongoing management and prophylaxis. Such interventions aim to ameliorate TCD scan adherence, and thus improve ongoing
management of SCD. Management of patients with chronic conditions is a constant challenge, but must be overcome to ensure
long term patient safety through monitoring of baselines, predicting complications, and preventing them from occurring.
ashleighdraper10@gmail.comJ Pediatr Care 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-805X-C3-012