Stroke Prevention in Sickle Cell Disease (STOP) study guidelines for transcranial Doppler testing

The Stroke Prevention in Sickle Cell Disease (STOP) trial used transcranial Doppler (TCD) to screen children with sickle cell disease with no history of stroke. Children (who consented) who had time-averaged mean of the maximum (TAMM) velocities in the middle cerebral artery and/or distal internal carotid artery were randomized to transfusion or standard. Over a slightly more than 20-month average follow-up, there were 11 strokes in the standard care arm and 1 stroke in the transfusion arm. This study has caused a great deal of interest in using TCD to screen children with sickle cell disease. For the STOP TCD data to be applied appropriately, it is necessary for users of TCD to understand how the STOP TCD examinations were performed, how the TCD velocities were measured, and which velocities were used. This article will review the STOP TCD scanning protocol and the reading protocol and review the TAMM velocity and how it differs from other velocity measurements.