Pilot Trial of Stimulant Treatment to Address Attention and Executive Deficits Among Children With Sickle Cell Disease
Objective: • Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and adherence to MPH treatment in children with SCD and EF deficits. Secondary Objective: • Evaluate neurobehavioral and safety outcomes following MPH treatment. Exploratory Objective: • Evaluate decision-making and determinants influencing methylphenidate utilization among parents.
• Diagnosed with SCD of any genotype
• Enrolled on the institutional protocol: Sickle Cell Clinical Research Intervention Program (SCCRIP)
• Between the ages of 8.0 and 17.9 years
• \*Included if performance measure, rating scale or diagnostic criteria met (within the past 2 years):
• \*Score at or below the 16th percentile on any 2 out of 4 performance measures:
‣ NIH Toolbox Flanker
⁃ NIH Toolbox List Sorting
⁃ NIH Toolbox Dimensional Change Card Sort Test (DCST)
⁃ Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) -5/ Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)-4 Digit Span Forward (DSF)
• \*Score at or above the 84th percentile on any 1 out of 2 parent rating scales:
‣ BRIEF-2 Global Executive
⁃ BASC-3 Attention
• \*Have a documented diagnosis of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (any subtype)
• English as the primary language
• Research participant and one parent willing to participate and provide consent/assent according to institutional guidelines
• Negative pregnancy test