Sickle cell disease can be severe and disabling. When properly treated, patients live longer and with better quality life. This is a US government publication intended to provide evidence-based guidelines for the care of these patients for the use of all concerned providers as well as patients and family members. This book is available in print here for convenience.

Sickle Cell Pain is a panoramic, in-depth exploration of every scientific, human, and social dimension of this cruel disease. This comprehensive, definitive work is unique in that it is the only book devoted to sickle cell pain, as opposed to general aspects of the disease. The 752-page book links sickle cell pain to basic, clinical, and translational research, addressing various aspects of sickle pain from molecular biology to the psychosocial aspects of the disease. Supplemented with patient narratives, case studies, and visual art, Sickle Cell Pain’s scientific rigor extends through its discussion of analgesic pharmacology, including abuse-deterrent formulations. The book also addresses in great detail inequities in access to care, stereotyping and stigmatization of patients, the implications of rapidly evolving models of care, and recent legislation and litigation and their consequences.

#1 Best Seller on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Sickle cell disease is a group of blood disorders passed down from parents to children. Sickle cell anemia shortens life expectancy by 30 years via bacterial infections, painful swellings, fever, arthritis, leg ulcers, eye, lung & heart damage. Over 100,000 people, mostly African-Americans, in the United States have sickle cell disease. Over 2 million people have sickle cell trait in America. It is estimated that more than 300,000 children are born each year with SCD around the world. This edition of The Management of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is organized into four parts: 1. Diagnosis and Counseling 2. Health Maintenance 3. Treatment of Acute and Chronic Complications 4. Special Topics. The original intent was to incorporate evidence-based medicine into each chapter, but there was variation among evidence-level scales, and some authors felt recommendations could be made, based on accepted practice, without formal trials in this rare disorder. The best evidence still is represented by randomized, controlled trials (RCTs), but variations exist in their design, conduct, endpoints, and analyses. It should be emphasized that selected people enter a trial, and results should apply in practice specifically to populations with the same characteristics as those in the trial. Randomization is used to reduce imbalances between groups, but unexpected factors sometimes may confound analysis or interpretation. In addition, a trial may last only a short period of time, but long-term clinical implications may exist. Another issue is treatment variation, for example, a new pneumococcal vaccine developed after the trial, which has not been tested formally in a sickle cell population. Earlier trial results may be accepted, based on the assumption that the change is small. In some cases, RCTs cannot be done satisfactorily (e.g., for ethical reasons, an insufficient number of patients, or a lack of objective measures for sickle cell "crises"). Thus the bulk of clinical experience in SCD still remains in the moderately strong and weaker categories of evidence. Not everyone has an efficacious outcome in a clinical trial, and the frequency of adverse events, such as with long-term transfusion programs or hematopoietic transplants, might not be considered. Thus, an assessment of benefit-to-risk ratio should enter into translation of evidence levels into practice recommendations. A final issue is that there may be two alternative approaches that are competitive (e.g., transfusions and hydroxyurea). In this case the pros and cons of each course of treatment should be discussed with the patient. This book is B&W copy of the government agency publication.

This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.

Evidence-Based Neuroimaging is a user-friendly guide that employs evidence-based medicine criteria to systematically review the evidence defining the appropriate use of medical imaging for the brain, spine, head, and neck. Edited by L. Santiago Medina, Pina C. Sanelli, and Jeffrey G. Jarvik, the book provides a systematic framework for understanding the best imaging choices for patient care. Chapters highlight key points that support clinical applications, allowing fast access to pertinent information including patient selection, imaging strategies, test performance, cost-effectiveness, and applicability. The diagnostic imaging of many common diseases, disorders, and conditions are covered, including multiple sclerosis, acute ischemic stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, autism, spinal trauma, spinal infections, neck masses, thyroid cancer, and cervical lymph node metastasis. By offering a clear understanding of the science behind the evidence, the book fills a void for radiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, pediatricians, primary care physicians, and other clinicians with an interest in neuroimaging and a desire to implement an evidence-based approach into their daily practice.

Completely revised new edition of the definitive reference on disorders of hemoglobin.

This book provides a practically applicable guide on the management of patients with pain in the inpatient setting in a variety of populations.Chapters are focused on how to treat patients with a particular condition including multiple sclerosis, liver failure, sickle cell anemia, organ related pain, and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, enabling the reader to develop a thorough understanding of how to appropriately analyse the condition and put together a suitable treatment plan for a variety of pain related conditions. Guide to the Inpatient Pain Consult comprehensively covers how to manage patients with pain in the inpatient setting, and is of use to trainees and practising internists, hospitalists, surgeons, and anaesthesiologists.