Ultrasonographic assessment of spleen size and pattern of change among sickle cell disease patients and healthy controls in North-Eastern Nigeria

Ladu, Adama, Jeffery, Caroline, Farate, Abubakar, Farouk, Abubakar G, Abulfathi, Fatima M, Adekile, Adekunle and Bates, Imelda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0862-8199 (2024) 'Ultrasonographic assessment of spleen size and pattern of change among sickle cell disease patients and healthy controls in North-Eastern Nigeria'. Ultrasound.

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Abstract

Background: Ultrasonography is an established and reliable method for assessing the spleen. Because of variation due to genetic and other environmental factors including malaria endemicity, interpretation of spleen sizes requires a knowledge of the normal reference range for a given population. This study aimed to identify spleen size reference ranges across age groups of healthy controls to serve as a baseline to assess changes in spleen size in patients with sickle cell disease.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, spleen size was measured in healthy people of different age groups and steady-state sickle cell disease patients (children and adults) using abdominal ultrasonography. Using the age-group-specific reference values obtained from the controls, spleens were classified into small, normal size or enlarged among the sickle cell disease patients.

Results: The study consisted of 109 (34.8%) healthy controls and 204 (65.2%) steady-state sickle cell disease patients. The spleen was visualised in all the controls ( n = 109) and in 107 (52.4%) sickle cell disease patients. Using cut-off values for spleen length among the controls across age groups (< 5 years (5.0–7.0 cm); 5–9 years (5.5–8.5 cm); 10–14 years (6.0–11.0 cm) and ⩾ 15 years (7.0–12.5 cm)), spleen size was classified as small ( n = 18/204; 8.87%), normal ( n = 68/204; 33.3%) and enlarged ( n = 21/204; 10.3%) among the sickle cell disease patients.

Conclusion: Model-based age-group reference ranges and percentile curves for splenic dimensions based on ultrasonography among normal controls in North-Eastern Nigeria were established and may be of value in assessing spleen sizes among sickle cell disease patients living in malaria-endemic regions of Africa.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	WH Hemic and Lymphatic Systems > Hematologic Diseases. Immunologic Factors. Blood Banks > WH 170 Hemolytic anemia (e.g., Sickle cell anemia) WH Hemic and Lymphatic Systems > WH 20 Research (General) WH Hemic and Lymphatic Systems > Lymphatic System > WH 600 Spleen
Faculty: Department:	Clinical Sciences & International Health > International Public Health Department Education
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1177/1742271x241241778
SWORD Depositor:	JISC Pubrouter
Depositing User:	JISC Pubrouter
Date Deposited:	25 Apr 2024 10:47
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2024 12:58
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/24417

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