Dr. Titilope Fasipe’s goals are shaped by her desire to help children facing the hardships of a blood disorder. She is intrigued by the clinical challenges of non-malignant hematologic diseases, wherein particular patients with sickle cell disease continue to have significant co-morbid complications and decreased lifespan. Furthermore, Dr. Titilope Fasipe has been long passionate about the psychosocial barriers to care experienced by children with sickle cell, especially during the transitional years. In addition to her academic role, Dr. Fasipe’s is actively involved in various sickle cell-focused community efforts targeted at understanding these challenges. At the state level, she was appointed at the first Texas Sickle Cell Advisory Committee (2016-2018) by the Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services. At the local level, she is the current chair of the Houston Sickle Cell Collaborative – a joint effort between the Houston Health Department and organizations vested in sickle cell disease. Dr. Fasipe’s research interests are focused on understanding barriers to transitioning youth with sickle cell to adult care. She desires to improve readiness to transition through active training and mentorship programs. Additionally, she wants to understand the factors related to patients with high care utilization patterns, in particular those with recurrent pain encounters. Dr. Fasipe is working to provide interventions to help improve pain management and hence, decrease the burden of high utilization.   Representative Publications: Regional Anesthesia for Sickle Cell Disease Vaso-Occlusive Crisis: A Single-Center Case Series Spinal Cord Compression: An Unusual Sequela of Sickle Cell Disease Hospital Use and Mortality in Transition-Aged Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Novel Dose Escalation to Predict Treatment With Hydroxyurea (NDEPTH): A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Dose-Prediction Equation to Determine Maximum Tolerated Dose of Hydroxyurea in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease   Online profile

Once Hawaii drops its mask mandate later this week, no state in the United States will require everyone to wear a mask indoors to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet in many supermarkets, office buildings, movie theaters, and other indoor locations, some people are still masking up. But if only half, or a few, or nobody else is doing so, does the mask offer the wearer sufficient protection? The question is becoming more urgent because even though rates of COVID-19 in most of the U.S. are currently low, they are rising in Europe—due to the fast-spreading variant Omicron BA.2—which has often presaged a spike here.   Related content

When you have sickle cell disease (SCD), living with pain can be an ongoing challenge. Pain is common in people with SCD. It’s also the main reason for going to the emergency room or hospital. Pain can be agonizing and keep you from doing the things you want or need to do. Living with pain can also be hard because it’s not something you can see. Your pain is often misunderstood by others. Knowing as much as you can about your pain and SCD can help you remember that the pain is not “just in your head,” but that it’s real. Causes for Pain With SCD, your red blood cells are sickle shaped. These sickle cells are hard and sticky and can get stuck in small blood vessels. This blocks oxygen and blood flow to the nearby part of the body. Without oxygen, cells get damaged or die. Pain is your body’s response to this lack of oxygen. Pain can come on suddenly. This is called a “pain episode,” and can be a sharp, intense, stabbing or throbbing pain. It may last a few hours to days, or even weeks. You can have pain in any part of your body, but it often happens in the abdomen (stomach), chest, lower back, arms or legs.   Abstract source

The sickle cell crisis, also called acute pain crisis or vaso-occlusive crisis, is the most common reason that people with SCD go to the hospital. Episodes are sudden and unpredictable and may be triggered by different unknown risk factors. About 5 percent of people with SCD have 3 to 10 episodes of severe pain per year. The average rate is about 1 episode per year for people with sickle cell anemia and sickle beta zero thalassemia. The average is about 1 episode per 2 years for people with hemoglobin SC disease and sickle beta plus thalassemia. Sickle cell crises often lead to further complications of SCD. About half of reported cases of acute chest syndrome happen after a hospital stay for a pain crisis. Sometimes, sickle cell crises can result in acute failure of multiple organs or sudden unexpected death.   Abstract source

There are a number of things you can do, and precautions you can take, to stay as healthy as possible if you have sickle cell disease.   Managing Sickle Cell Pain: You can reduce your risk of painful episodes (sickle cell crises) by avoiding things that can trigger them. • Drink plenty of fluids, particularly during hot weather – dehydration increases the risk of a sickle cell crisis • Avoid extreme temperatures – you should dress appropriately for the weather and avoid sudden temperature changes, such as swimming in cold water   Pregnancy and Contraception: Women with sickle cell disease can have a healthy pregnancy, but it's a good idea to speak to your healthcare team for advice first. It may be useful to find out if your partner is a carrier of sickle cell and discuss the implications of this with a counselor. Some sickle cell disease medicines, such as hydroxycarbamide, can harm an unborn baby. You may need to be stop taking them before trying to get pregnant.   Abstract source

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