High early mortality among Ugandan children with sickle cell anemia and congenital HIV identified by newborn screening

The Uganda Sickle Surveillance Study (US3) documented sickle cell anemia (SCA) throughout the country. An important corollary was identification of infants born with SCA and vertically transmitted HIV. The consequences of SCA and HIV together are poorly understood, although both likely contribute to morbidity and early mortality. Sickle Evaluation and Assessment of Risks: Co-morbidity with HIV (SEARCH) was a retrospective case-control study, designed to evaluate the effects of concurrent SCA and HIV, comparing cases (children with both conditions) versus controls (children with one or neither condition).