Skip to main content

A Multi-center Prospective Cohort Study in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease suggests that infusion centers give faster, more patient-centered symptom relief for people with sickle cell disease. Efforts ongoing to apply these lessons locally!

269 people with Sickle cell disease, followed at 4 US sites, were evaluated for treatment outcomes after being seen for management of acute pain, in either an emergency department (ED) or a dedicated infusion center (IC), designed to manage acute symptoms.

The mean time to first dose of pain medication was 1 hour for ICs and over 2 hours for EDs. With care in an IC compared with an ED, patients were 4-times more likely to be rapidly reassessed for symptom relief, as guidelines recommend, and to be discharged home rather than admitted to the hospital.  These data suggest that rapid consistent management of acute pain is more feasible in an infusion center. This model could significantly improve quality of care and symptom management in people with sickle cell disease.

Infusion Clinic for SCD – editorial

Infusion Clinic for SCD