Repeat transcranial Doppler ultrasound imaging in Kuwaiti children with sickle cell disease after a 10‐year interval: A prospective, cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Transcranial Doppler imaging (TCDI) of the cerebral arteries is the method of choice to predict patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) at risk for stroke. This study reports TCDI follow‐up of cerebral blood flow in a cohort of Kuwaiti children with SCD after a 10‐year interval. METHODS: Twenty‐one pediatric patients with SCD, aged 16.0 ± 1.6 years were initially studied when they were aged 6.5 ± 1.2 years. TCDI scanning was carried out using a phased‐array transducer of 1–3 MHz through the trans‐temporal window. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end‐diastolic velocity (EDV), time‐averaged mean of the maximum velocity (TAMMV), resistive index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) were obtained in the anterior and posterior Circle of Willis vessels. RESULTS: The follow‐up indices were mostly lower than in the initial study although they remained within the normal range in all the arteries. TAMMV was less than 170 cm/s, and PSV did not exceed 200 cm/s in all vessels. The initial and follow‐up TAMMV (mean ± SD) were: 77.3 ± 20.9 and 71.6 ± 9.9 in the terminal internal carotid artery, 94.3 ± 25.8 and 82 ± 18.2 in the middle cerebral artery, 76.6 ± 25.6 and 70.6 ± 10.7 in the anterior cerebral artery, and 59.1 ± 15.8 and 63.9 ± 8.5 in the posterior cerebral artery, respectively. The mean differences between the old and follow‐up data for RI, and PI were statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Kuwaiti patients with SCD appear to be largely protected from cerebral artery vasculopathy in childhood.