Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33126922›Full record

SynthesisSystematic reviews2020

Screening for sickle cell disease in newborns: a systematic review.

Britta Runkel, Birgit Klüppelholz, Anne Rummer, Wiebke Sieben, Ulrike Lampert, Claudia Bollig, Martina Markes, Ulrike Paschen, Konstanze Angelescu

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Systematic reviews, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Britta RunkelInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Birgit KlüppelholzInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Anne RummerInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Wiebke SiebenInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Ulrike LampertInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Claudia BolligInstitute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Martina MarkesInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Ulrike PaschenInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany.
Konstanze AngelescuInstitute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Cologne, Germany. konstanze.angelescu@iqwig.de.ORCID 0000-0002-1664-3022
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care · DEUniversity of Freiburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited autosomal recessive disorder caused by the replacement of normal haemoglobin (HbA) by mutant Hb (sickle Hb, HbS). The sickle-shaped red blood cells lead to haemolysis and vaso-occlusion. Especially in the first years of life, patients with SCD are at high risk of life-threatening complications. SCD prevalence shows large regional variations; the disease predominantly occurs in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to systematically assess the evidence on the benefit of newborn screening for SCD followed by an earlier treatment start.

methodsWe systematically searched bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Databases, and the Health Technology Assessment Database), trial registries, and other sources to identify systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or non-randomised trials on newborn screening for SCD. The last search was in 07/2020. Two reviewers independently reviewed abstracts and full-text articles and assessed the risk of bias of the studies included. Data were extracted by one person and checked by another. As meta-analyses were not possible, a qualitative summary of results was performed.

resultsWe identified 1 eligible study with direct evidence: a Jamaican retrospective study evaluating newborn screening for SCD followed by preventive measures (prevention of infections and education of parents). The study included 500 patients with SCD (intervention group, 395; historical control group, 105). Although the results showed a high risk of bias, the difference between the intervention and the control group was very large: mortality in children decreased by a factor of about 10 in the first 5 years of life (0.02% in the intervention group vs. 0.19% in the control group, odds ratio 0.09; 95% confidence interval [0.04; 0.22], p < 0.001).

conclusionThe results are based on a single retrospective study including historical controls. However, the decrease of mortality by a factor of 10 is unlikely to be explained by bias alone. Therefore, in terms of mortality, data from this single retrospective study included in our systematic review suggest a benefit of newborn screening for SCD (followed by preventive measures) versus no newborn screening for SCD (weak certainty of conclusions).

Indexed as

Anemia, Sickle CellChildHumansInfant, NewbornMass ScreeningAnaemia—sickle cellNewborn screeningSCD screeningSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID33126922
PMCPMC7602310
OpenAlexW3095583172

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.