Diagnosis patterns of sickle cell disease in Ghana: a secondary analysis.

Background: Despite having the highest prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) in the world, no country in Sub-Saharan Africa has a universal screening program for the disease. We sought to capture the diagnosis patterns of SCD (age at SCD diagnosis, method of SCD diagnosis, and age of first pain crisis) in Accra, Ghana.

Methods: We administered an in-person, voluntary survey to parents of offspring with SCD between 2009 and 2013 in Accra as a part of a larger study and conducted a secondary data analysis to determine diagnosis patterns.