Is Smoke the Signal for Surgery? : Should the Moyamoya Syndrome “Puff
of Smoke” trigger cerebral revascularization surgery in children with
sickle cell disease?
Abstract
Stroke in Sickle Cell Revascularization Surgery Retrospective Study
(SiSCRS) in this issue reports retrospective data from 15 medical
centers to examine the benefit of cerebral revascularization surgery
(CRS) in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) who also have Moyamoya
Syndrome (SCD-MMS). The American Society of Hematology guidelines
“suggests evaluation for revascularization surgery in addition to
regular blood transfusion” for treating SCD-MMS combined with a history
of stroke or transient ischemic attack but categorizes this as a
“conditional recommendation based on very low certainty in the evidence
about effects”. The research presented in this article is aimed at
reducing the uncertainty surrounding revascularization surgery as a
treatment using retrospective data from 15 medical centers with
expertise in CRS for SCD-MMS. Even with the 78 children with CRS
(Surgery group) and 63 children in the non-surgery (Conservative group),
the differences between the two groups had mixed statistical
significance in multivariate analyses. SiSCRS is an important
retrospective analysis but must be interpreted with caution. The benefit
of CRS attains statistical significance only in some of the comparisons.
The rate of stroke in pediatric SCD decreases with age, creating a bias
in favor of the older group (i.e., the Surgery Group) to have fewer
CVEs, The additional role of aspirin and the bias of patient selection
for surgery also weaken the ability to make definitive statements. The
SiSCRS results suggest a likely retrospective benefit of CRS, but the
benefit must be demonstrated with more rigorous studies in the future.