Factors in the implementation of ASH SCD guidelines on silent cerebral infarcts and cognition at a single sickle cell center
Jennifer A Afranie-Sakyi, Modupe J Karimi, Valentina Restrepo-Espinosa, Janis Bozzo, Joanna S Cole, Layla N Van Doren, Cecelia L Calhoun · 2026
Read Factors in the implementation of ASH SCD guidelines on silent cerebral infarcts and cognition at a single sickle cell center by Jennifer A Afranie-Sakyi, Modupe J Karimi, Valentina Restrepo-Espinosa, Janis Bozzo, Joanna S Cole, Layla N Van Doren, Cecelia L Calhoun (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13482513.txt.
Description
Afranie-Sakyi and colleagues check whether a sickle cell centre followed brain-health guidelines. Their 2026 letter examines the American Society of Hematology's 2020 recommendations on silent cerebral infarcts. These are small brain injuries without obvious stroke symptoms. The recommendations also cover monitoring thinking problems in sickle cell disease. The guidelines advise at least one brain MRI in adulthood for higher-risk patients.
The team reviewed 443 adults treated at Yale New Haven between 2018 and 2024. Fewer than half of eligible patients had a brain MRI in adulthood or any cognitive assessment. Only 4.3 percent had an MRI done specifically to screen for silent infarcts, and rates did not improve after the guidelines appeared. Most scans were ordered because symptoms had already shown up, pointing to missed chances for early action.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jennifer A Afranie-Sakyi, Modupe J Karimi, Valentina Restrepo-Espinosa, Janis Bozzo, Joanna S Cole, Layla N Van Doren, Cecelia L Calhoun |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 12 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |