The MOHFW has announced a mission to eliminate sickle cell disease (SCD) by 2047 with a goal to ensure Universal screening of seven crore people between 0-40 years in affected tribal areas.
The standard treatment workflow for sickle cell disease has been prepared by ICMR to achieve the goal. According to this, the following groups will be screened to detect sickle cell disease:
- Antenatal mothers or pre-pregnancy planning.
- Newborn
- Population screening/patient of any age
Prophylaxis plans include penicillin, immunisations, folic acid supplementation and vaccination against pneumococcal infection, meningococcal infection, H, influenza, typhoid, influenza, and Covid 19.
The guidelines provide specific dosing instructions for hydroxyurea.
- Infants and children- 10-15 mg/kg/day
- Adolescent-15 mg/kg/day
- CBC monitoring every 1-3 months
The only curative therapy is stem cell transplantation and is reserved only for those patients who do not respond to other treatment options.
