National Audit of Criteria For Pre-Operative Sickle Cell Screening in Children

Area of Science:

• Anaesthesiology
• Paediatric Care
• Genetics

Background:

• Increasing diversity in Ireland necessitates updated health screening protocols.
• Sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell trait (SCT) screening is crucial for at-risk paediatric populations.
• Current practices for pre-operative SCD/SCT screening in Irish public hospitals are not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess current pre-operative screening practices for sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell trait (SCT) in Irish public hospitals.
• To identify existing policies and variations in screening protocols for paediatric anaesthesia.
• To highlight the need for standardized national guidelines.

Main Methods:

• Survey of Anaesthesiology Departments in 14 public hospitals providing paediatric anaesthesia.
• Data collection focused on existing policies for pre-operative screening of paediatric patients for SCD/SCT.
• Analysis of policies and comparison of screening criteria across responding hospitals.

Main Results:

• 11 out of 14 hospitals responded to the survey.
• Only 3 of the 11 responding departments have formal policies for pre-operative SCD/SCT screening.
• Significant variation exists in the ethnicities targeted for screening among the departments with policies.

Conclusions:

• There is a lack of standardized pre-operative screening for sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell trait (SCT) in children across Ireland's public hospitals.
• No national neonatal screening program or policy exists to guide pre-operative screening for SCD/SCT in Ireland.
• A national review and guideline development for targeted pre-operative sickle cell screening in at-risk children is recommended due to Ireland's increasing multiculturalism.