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Hydroxyurea for the Management of Sickle Cell Disease: Assessment of Effectiveness and Side Effects
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| Author:
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EMAN MERGHANI ALI, MOSA MOHAMMED HASSAN TAWHARI, MAJED HASSAN MATHKUR, MOHAMMED ABDULLAH NOSHILY, KHALED AHMED HASSAN KHBRANI, MOAWIYA BADAWI MOHAMED, AHMAD Z AL MESLAMANI
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| Abstract:
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Background: There is a scarcity of data available on efficacy and safety of hydroxyurea, particularly on its
long-term effects on sickle cell disease. Objective: To assess effectiveness and safety of hydroxyurea in the
management of sickle cell disease and investigate the practices and attitudes of patients towards these adverse
effects. Design and Setting: This was an interventional, cross-sectional study carried out in the
Southwestern area in Saudi Arabia. Patients diagnosed with sickle cell disease were included in the study and
information about their demographics, the characters of their disease, the side effects they had experienced,
and the results for laboratory investigations before and after treatment with hydroxyurea were collected. The
data was collected in an excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: 110 patients participated in
this study. 28.2% of the patients were in the age group between 5 to 10 years, and 67.3% were treated by
hydroxyurea for more than three years. The most common type of sickle cell anemia (89%) was type Hbss.
The usual dose of hydroxyurea was 15mg/kg/day. 42.7% of the patients had experienced at least one adverse
effect of the medication. Additionally, 32.7% of patients showed that the most common adverse effect was
myelosuppression. Hydroxyurea significantly increased the levels of hemoglobin (p value<0.001), RBCs (p-value
0.02), total protein (p-value <0.001) and the albumin level (p-value <0.001). Also, serum creatinine was
significantly reduced after the administration of hydroxyurea (p value<0.001), there was a significant decrease
in the number of annual VOS crisis (p value<0.001), hospital admissions (p value< 0.001), and blood transfusion
(p-value <0.001). Finally, there was no acute chest syndrome (ACS), or CNS events or bone diseases after
hydroxyurea administration. Conclusion: The safety profile of Hydroxyurea is acceptable and its efficacy
against treatment for sickle cell anemia, especially in the pediatric population.
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| Keyword:
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Hydroxyurea, sickle cell disease, demographics, serum creatinine.
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| EOI:
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| DOI:
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https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2021.13.03.018
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| Download:
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