Acceptability, barriers and facilitators of using dried blood spots-point-of-care testing for sickle cell disease in Africa: an implementation science protocol for a multinational qualitative study.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a prevalent inherited blood disorder. Globally, approximately 515 000 babies are born with SCD annually, with 75% of these births occurring in Africa. Integrating newborn screening (NBS) for SCD into primary healthcare structures, such as immunisation programmes, holds significant promise, with dried blood spots (DBS)-point-of-care technologies (POCT) like HaemoTypeSC offering cost-effective screening solutions.

Determination of birth prevalence of sickle cell disease using point of care test HemotypeSC™ at Rundu Hospital, Namibia.

Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD), a noncommunicable disease, has the greatest burden in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of children (50-90%) with SCD die before their 5th birthday, with approximately 150,000-300,000 annual SCD child deaths in Africa. In developed countries, newborn screening (NBS) has been shown to improve the survival of children with sickle cell disease, with under5 childhood mortality reduced tenfold due to interventions performed before the development of complications.

An update review of new therapies in sickle cell disease: the prospects for drug combinations.

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder characterised by polymerisation of deoxygenated haemoglobin S and microvascular obstruction. The cardinal feature is generalised pain referred to as vaso-occlusive crises (VOC), multi-organ damage and premature death. SCD is the most prevalent inherited life-threatening disorders in the world and over 85% of world's 400,000 annual births occur low-and-middle-income countries.

Pharmacogenetics of pain management in Zimbabwean patients with sickle cell disease.

Pain is a common cause of hospitalization in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Failure to effectively control pain remains a challenge in patient care. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the effect of and polymorphisms on pain management in 106 Zimbabwean SCD patients.