Do you screen children with sickle cell disease for silent cerebral infarcts?

We screen children with sickle cell disease for SCIs at our center. This is because data suggest that silent cerebral infarcts (SCIs) are much more common than overt stroke and the long-term negative impacts of SCIs are significant. There are also treatments (e.g., chronic transfusion and stem cell ...

Poor school performance, learning difficulties, ADHD, behavioral problems, and emotional problems are silent infarct until proven otherwise. I would argue for hydroxyurea starting at 6 months to age 1, when the HgF protection has dissipated. See: Stapleton, NEJM 2011