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RecruitingNCT07488520STEPUpdated Oct 5, 2026

Integrating Point of Care Testing (POCT) For Newborn Screening and Early Care for Sickle Cell Disease in Yopougon, Côte d'Ivoire

A Phase 4 interventional study of Gazelle-Multispectral point of care testing for newborn sickle cell disease screening; and initiation of early comprehensive clinical interventions in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), sponsored by Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute. Recruiting at 2 sites in Côte d’Ivoire. Open to participants aged 0 Months to 6 Months. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-05.

Sponsored by Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute · Phase 4, Interventional, and Health services research

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jul 2026; still recruiting 3 months later.
Updated Oct 5, 2026Now RecruitingSite recruiting status changed+2 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
120
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
0 Months to 6 Months
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a multifaceted intervention composed of Gazelle-Multispectral sickle cell disease (SCD) point of care testing (POCT) and early initiation of comprehensive SCD care in children with SCD disease aged 0 - 6 months can improve their clinical outcomes.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does the intervention lower the number of SCD-related illnesses?
  • Does the intervention lower the illness incidence defined as seeking health care at any health facility - with or without treatment - for any episode related to a SCD related illness?
  • Does the intervention lower all-cause death rate (at the end of 1, 2, 3 and 3.5 years of follow-up)?

Researchers will compare the multifaceted intervention results with those of historical data (based on erratic SCD testing and treatment) from the region.

Participants will undergo a SCD screening test using the Gazelle Multispectral platform and if positive they will undergo confirmatory testing with HemoTypeSC™. Participants with SCD will receive early comprehensive clinical interventions i.e. standard administration of antibacterial and antimalarial prophylaxis, vaccinations for pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hydroxyurea, parental education about the need for regular and, if necessary, urgent medical care.

Read the detailed description

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited life-threatening hematological disorder. Globally, every year, an estimated 300,000 children are born with sickle cell anemia (SCD - SS, homozygous form), the most severe form of SCD. About 75% of these births occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), of whom 50-90% die before their 5th birthday. In high income countries, it has been shown that newborn SCD screening and early comprehensive clinical interventions such as penicillin prophylaxis, safe blood transfusion, hydroxyurea and acute medical care, substantially reduces SCD morbidity and mortality. In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), the implementation of newborn SCD screening and early clinical interventions are largely poor.

The most commonly used newborn SCD screening techniques are isoelectric focusing (IEF), capillary electrophoresis (CE) and cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These techniques have a high cost, require skilled staff and a reliable electricity supply, and are therefore not suitable for remote settings in LMICs. In order to overcome these challenges, several point of care tests (POCTs) have been recently developed. The Gazelle Multispectral platform is the first SCD POCT that can be used to identify and quantify hemoglobin variants in newborns and people of any age.

In Côte d'Ivoire, as in many other African countries, the implementation of newborn SCD screening and early clinical interventions are lagging behind, and subsequently SCD morbidity and mortality are high. In this project, the investigators will implement a novel multifaceted intervention composed of: 1) integration of Gazelle-Multispectral POCT for newborn SCD screening; and 2) initiation of early comprehensive clinical interventions i.e. standard administration of antibacterial and antimalarial prophylaxis, vaccinations for pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hydroxyurea, parental education about the need for regular and, if necessary, urgent medical care. The investigators will assess the effectiveness and cost of the multifaceted intervention. The effectiveness will be assessed based on the 2.5 - 3.5 years follow-up clinical records of SCD morbidity and mortality (clinical outcomes). The effectiveness data will be compared descriptively with historical data from the region, and used to inform SCD policy in Côte d'Ivoire. Historical data will be obtained from published literature in Cote d'Ivoire or nearby Countries such as Ghana. After three and a half years, the investigators aim to hand over the project to the Ministry of Health of Côte d'Ivoire for integration into its routine health care activities and potential nation-wide scale up.

02

Conditions studied

  • Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

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Keywords

  • Sickle cell disease
  • Newborn Screening
  • Early Care for Sickle Cell Disease
  • Point of care testing
03

In context

Anemia, Sickle Cell

1,134 studies on the registry are indexed under Anemia, Sickle Cell; 238 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 120 is above the median of 40 across 769 interventional studies indexed under Anemia, Sickle Cell.

Browse Anemia, Sickle Cell studies →

Lead sponsor

Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute is the lead sponsor of 58 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
0 Months to 6 Months
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  1. Children aged 0 - 6 months old identified at selected health facilities within the study area
  2. Babies whose age plus the gestation period reaches 37 weeks or more
  3. Children who did not receive a blood transfusion within the past 90 days
  4. Children whose parents or guardians have consented to participate in the study by signing a consent form

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Children already diagnosed with SCD
  2. Children that are participating in another clinical research project
  3. Children that are critically ill and require emergency treatment
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
120 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Gazelle-Multispectral for newborn sickle cell disease screening; and early clinical interventions

    A novel multifaceted intervention composed of: 1) integration of Gazelle-Multispectral point of care testing (POCT) for newborn sickle cell disease (SCD) screening; and 2) initiation of early comprehensive clinical interventions i.e. standard administration of antibacterial and antimalarial prophylaxis, vaccinations for pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hydroxyurea and parental education about SCD medical care.

    Combination Product: Gazelle-Multispectral point of care testing for newborn sickle cell disease screening; and initiation of early comprehensive clinical interventions

Interventions

  • Combination productGazelle-Multispectral point of care testing for newborn sickle cell disease screening; and initiation of early comprehensive clinical interventions

    A novel multifaceted intervention composed of: 1) integration of Gazelle-Multispectral point of care testing (POCT) for newborn sickle cell disease (SCD) screening; and 2) initiation of early comprehensive clinical interventions i.e. standard administration of antibacterial and antimalarial prophylaxis, vaccinations for pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hydroxyurea and parental education about SCD medical care.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The clinical outcomes of implementing a novel multifaceted intervention composed of a Gazelle SCD POCT, and early initiation of comprehensive SCD care are:

    1a. Number of SCD related morbidity and events i.e. i) vaso-occlusive crises (VOC); ii) acute chest syndrome (ACS); iii) stroke; iv) blood transfusions; v) all cause hospitalizations 1b. Morbidity incidence defined as seeking health care at any health facility - with or without treatment - for any episode related to one of the following SCD related morbidity and events: i) vaso-occlusive crises (VOC); ii) acute chest syndrome (ACS); iii) stroke; iv) blood transfusions; v) all cause hospitalizations 1c. All-cause mortality rate (at the end of 1, 2, 3 and 3.5 years of follow-up) Note: The clinical outcomes are a summation of all the different parameters indicated. ''Morbidity'' includes vaso-occlusive crises (VOC); acute chest syndrome, stroke and other underlying causes of illness. ''Events'' include blood transfusions. ''All cause hospitalizations'' are a result of ''morbidities''.

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 3.5 years

  2. The clinical outcomes of implementing a novel multifaceted intervention composed of a Gazelle SCD POCT, and early initiation of comprehensive SCD care are:

    1a. Number of SCD related morbidity and events i.e. i) vaso-occlusive crises (VOC); ii) acute chest syndrome (ACS); iii) stroke; iv) blood transfusions; v) all cause hospitalizations 1b. Morbidity incidence defined as seeking health care at any health facility - with or without treatment - for any episode related to one of the following SCD related morbidity and events: i) vaso-occlusive crises (VOC); ii) acute chest syndrome (ACS); iii) stroke; iv) blood transfusions; v) all cause hospitalizations 1c. All-cause mortality rate (at the end of 1, 2, 3 and 3.5 years of follow-up)

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 3.5 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. The implementation costs and the cost-effectiveness of a novel multifaceted intervention composed of a Gazelle SCD POCT, and early initiation of comprehensive SCD care are:

    1a. Total financial and economic costs associated with program roll out 1b. Costs per child screened with POCT 1c. Costs per SCD screen positive child 1d. Annual costs associated with early comprehensive SCD care 1e. Number of morbidity and mortality averted 1f. Cost per morbidity and mortality averted by the multifaceted intervention Note: Outcomes 1a. to 1d. indicate and represent ''implementation costs''. Outcome 1e. indicates and represents ''effectiveness''. Outcomes 1f. refers to ''cost effectiveness''.

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 3.5 years

  2. The budget impact (per year) associated with early comprehensive SCD care for all children who test positive in Côte d'Ivoire

    1\. Annual costs associated with early comprehensive SCD care for all children who test positive

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 3.5 years

07

Study locations

1 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Yopougon Millionnaire extension health center
    Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
    Recruiting
  • Yopougon SCD Center of Excellence
    Yopougon, Côte d’Ivoire
    Not yet recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data (IPD) are available on request to bona fide researchers via the Swiss Center for Scientific Research in Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS), Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and Novartis Pharma AG. Data can be granted on a case-by-case basis jointly by the project leaders at the CSRS, Swiss TPH and Novartis. This process is designed to protect participants' confidentiality, which might be compromised if data were publicly available. Requests to access data should be made to Prof. Dr. Benjamin Koudou (CSRS) via guibehi.koudou@csrs.ci or Dr. Acellam Charles Abongomera (Swiss TPH) via charles.abongomera@swisstph.ch or to Novartis according to the criteria and processes described on the Clinical Study Data Request website ClinicalStudyDataRequest.com

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedDate before it movedWhere the date was before it movedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jul 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2029, 41 months after the start.

Of 20 phase 4 interventional studies under Anemia, Sickle Cell, half reached primary completion within 24 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 41. This study's planned 41 months is above that.

Start moved once since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026: Apr 2026 → Jul 2026, on Oct 5, 2026.

Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 24, 2026
First posted
Mar 23, 2026
StartActual
Jul 27, 2026was Apr 2026
Primary completionEst.
Dec 2029
CompletionEst.
Dec 2029
Last update
Oct 5, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
Status
Not yet recruiting→Recruiting
changed Oct 5, 2026
Sites
1 site added. Yopougon SCD Center of Excellence is now Not yet recruiting
Show site
  • Yopougon Millionnaire extension health center · Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Oct 5, 2026
Start date
Apr 2026→Jul 27, 2026 (actual)
Oct 5, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 5, 2026
    Not yet recruiting→Recruiting
    1 site added. Yopougon SCD Center of Excellence is now Not yet recruiting
    Show site
    • Yopougon Millionnaire extension health center · Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
    Start date Apr 2026→Jul 27, 2026 (now actual)

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07488520
Lead sponsor
Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute
Collaborators
Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Cote d'Ivoire, Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 23, 2026
Start date
Jul 27, 2026
Primary completion
Dec 2029 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 5, 2026

Study contacts

Acellam Charles Abongomera, MD, MPH, PhD
Contact
charles.abongomera@swisstph.ch
+41612848629
Benjamin Koudou, PhD
Contact
guibehi.koudou@csrs.ci
+2250777205263

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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