Natural History of Sickle Cell Disease

June 5, 2026 updated by: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Studies of the Natural History of Sickle Cell Disease

This study is not a treatment protocol and no experimental treatments are involved. Study participants may be seen as needed for clinical, translational and basic research studies, or as medically indicated. Subjects will receive their general medical care outside the NIH and will be seen at our clinic or at CNHS with varying frequency. Subjects may be seen for multiple visits. Subjects may be asked to return for additional testing as needed. Clinical care for patients with sickle cell disease will be provided as appropriate through the Sickle Cell Clinic and the inpatient clinical center.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

This protocol will permit the establishment of a repository of biospecimens from individuals affected with sickle cell disease to identify and evaluate underlying disease mechanism(s), and to facilitate understanding of the pathogenesis and natural history of vaso-occlusive painful crisis and other complications of the disease. Patients will be evaluated with a medical history and physical examination and routine laboratory studies will be obtained as needed to assess diagnosis, disease activity, and disease complications and to monitor for treatment-related responses and toxicities. This protocol may also provide for the continued storage and analysis of clinical and research data, and biospecimens previously obtained from other NIH Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocols with subject consent.

Patients eligible for other research protocols will be offered an opportunity to participate in these studies after signed informed consent has been obtained. Apart from such protocols, any medical care or additional tests/investigations recommended or provided to the patient will be consistent with routine standards of practice and will be provided in consultation with the patient s referring physician.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

3500

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20010
        • Recruiting
        • Childrens National Health Center
        • Contact:
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • Recruiting
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
        • Contact:
          • For more information at the NIH Clinical Center contact Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR)
          • Phone Number: TTY dial 711 800-411-1222
          • Email: ccopr@nih.gov
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20814
        • Completed
        • Suburban Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

2 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study will be open to all eligible subjects based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and who provide informed consent. Patients may self-refer, be recruited through the NIH office of recruitment, and may include patients participating on other NIH IRB approved protocols. The study will also be open to all eligible pediatric patients receiving medical care for SCD at Children s National.

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • Individuals with known or suspected sickle cell disease
  • 2 years of age and older
  • Willing to provide informed consent or appropriate informed consent from parent or legal guardian
  • Patients seen at sickle outpatient clinics at any one of the participating centers (CNHS or NIH).

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Patient and/or guardian unable and unwilling to give informed consent or assent.
  • Patients less than 2 years of age.

Individuals with known or suspected sickle cell disease will meet the inclusion criteria to enroll in this protocol and can undergo study activities. However, if the individual is found not to have sickle cell disease after enrollment, they will be removed from the protocol, and their research samples will be discarded but they will be counted toward the study accrual. The study team will notify the individual about their removal from the study and explain the reason for it. Any necessary regulatory reporting will also be completed.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Only
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Patients
Individuals with known or suspected sickle cell disease

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
To gather, through clinical experience, information regarding the natural history, co-morbid conditions and outcomes, and complications relating to sickle cell disease and other hemolytic disorders in minority/ethnic patients
Time Frame: ongoing
Better characterization of the natural history of sickle cell disease
ongoing

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Swee Lay Thein, M.D., National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 29, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 15, 2004

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 14, 2004

First Posted (Estimated)

April 15, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 5, 2026

Last Verified

June 4, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 040161
  • 04-H-0161

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

The team is in the process of making a determination.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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