Trends in mortality and hospital admissions of sickle cell disease patients before and after the newborn screening program in Maranhão, Brazil

Objective: To assess the impact of the implementation of neonatal screening on hospitalization and death rates due to sickle cell disease in patients from the state of Maranhão, Brazil. Methods: A descriptive study was performed of all inpatients and deaths of patients with a diagnosis of sickle cell disease in Maranhão between 1999 and 2012. Data were collected from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian National Health Service (SUS) and the Death Information System of the Ministry of Health. The implementation of newborn screening tests in Maranhão took place in 2005, and so the periods 1999-2005 (pre) and 2006-2012 (post) were analyzed for trend analysis using a multiple linear regression model. Fisher's exact test was used for the analysis of categorical variables and the Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous variables. Results: The rate of hospitalization increased from 0.315 (pre) to 1.832 (post), indicating 5.82 times more admissions (p-value = 0.04). The mortality rate increased from 0.115 to 0.216, that is 1.88 times higher, but this was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.586). The median age at admission dropped from 11.4 years to 8.7 years (p-value = 0.0002), whereas the median age at death increased from 10 years to 14 years (p-value = 0.665). Conclusion: The increases in the rates of hospitalization and death after the implementation of neonatal screening suggests that previously there was an underdiagnosis of sickle cell disease and that screening, along with other factors, increased "visibility" in the state of Maranhão. .

Gaucher disease in a family from Maranhão

Background: Gaucher disease is an inborn, autosomal recessive error of the metabolism which belongs to the group of lysosomal storage disorders. Objective: This work reports on the treatment of Gaucher disease in several members of the same family from the countryside of Maranhão. Methods: This was an observational, retrospective and prospective, descriptive case study about the efficacy of enzyme replacement therapy. Results: The results showed that women were more affected (80% of patients) by the disease, age at diagnosis ranged from 24 to 33 years, the predominant ethnicity was mulatto (80%) and all cases were classified as type 1. The diagnosis of these patients was performed by measuring the levels of glucocerebrosidase and chitotriosidase enzymes and confirmed by genotyping. All patients suffering from Gaucher disease had low glucocerebrosidase levels. Before replacement therapy, hepatosplenomegaly was the most common clinical manifestation (100%) and osteopenia was seen in 80% of the cases. Regarding hematological manifestations, anemia and leukopenia were found in 40% of patients at diagnosis; however the hemoglobin and leukocyte levels were normalized after four years of therapy. Thrombocytopenia, observed in 20% of cases, was normalized after the second year of treatment. Conclusion: In these cases, despite gaps in the treatment as the family resides in the rural region of the state, the patients with Gaucher disease showed satisfactory therapeutic response over time...