Arginine Therapy for the Treatment of Pain in Children With Sickle Cell Disease

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether giving extra arginine to patients with sickle cell disease seeking treatment for vaso-occlusive painful events (VOE) will decrease pain scores, decrease need for pain medications or decrease length of hospital stay or emergency department visit.

Detailed Description

Arginine is a simple amino acid that is found in many foods and is part of the proteins in a human's body. Patients with sickle cell disease have low levels of the amino acid arginine and these low levels may be related to pain episodes. Increasing levels of arginine in the blood may lower pain and/or lower the amount of pain medication (like morphine) that is needed to treated them. It may also decrease the amount of time spent in the hospital. Available data suggest that, L-arginine is a safe \& efficacious intervention with narcotic-sparing effects in pediatric SCD patients with VOE. The addition of a higher loading dose to the standard dose or use of a continuous infusion may provide additional clinical benefits by overcoming multiple mechanisms that limit global arginine bioavailability in SCD.

Eligibility Criteria

Interventions