The impact of hydroxyurea in pediatric sickle cell patients on hospitalizations and length of

1 The longest study period was carried for 96 months. 2 A significant difference came from the study location whereby the majority of the research was carried in multicenter regions in the US with one single center region. Other studies had different locations such as Brazil, India, Iran, and Oman. In these 4 countries, the study setting was within single centers, except for a study carried in Brazil. 3 Majority of the research reports used two distinct study designs. The experimental group involves the patients that are receiving the HU treatment for sickle cell disease while the control group consists of patients that are not receiving the same treatment. Using this design, the impact of HU on patients with SCD can be clearly identified. This approach was applied in the study where 60 pediatric patients were equally divided into the control and experimental groups.

30 of the participants in the experimental group were administered with 10 mg/kg every day for 18 months while the remaining group only got a placebo for the same duration. 1 This approach, also known as double-blind placebo-controlled study, was utilized in two studies. The follow-up year for the patients also relied on the study design. Findings on Hospitalization Most of the findings indicated that HU as a therapeutic intervention for SCD show a significant reduction in the annual rate of hospital visits. One report indicates that the need for blood transfusion for the patients reduced by a significant factor after the HU therapy was applied. 2 These findings indicate that HU as a treatment for SCD significantly reduces the rate of hospital visits. There were some differences which were seen based on the rate of decrease in the hospitalization of the patients under HU therapy.

These figures represented the frequency of ICU admission for the patients that were using the HU therapy compared to those that were not using the same treatment. 4 While the findings indicated a decline in the hospitalization rate for the parients, this factor did not provide any proof for the researchers in regard to whether the HU therapy influences the hospitalization rates for the pediatric patients with SCD. Findings on Length of Stay The length of stay (LOS) for the patients was reduced for the patients in most of the studies. These articles presented a reduction in the LOS of the patients from 2 days to even 7 days indicating that HU was a therapy that significantly improved the health of pediatric patients. 1,2,5,7 Dehury et al.

and Wang et al. did not report on the outcome of hydroxyurea therapy in the reduction of length of stay for the patients. 6,7,10 This feature can indicate that the researchers did not firmly believe on the value of length of stay as a variable in the study. Additionally, these researchers would have been unable to find evidence or any significant relationship between the length of stay and the HU therapy. These findings could have occured due to errors in the research or due to incorrect study designs. , Desai, S. , Bhatnagar, M. , & Lodha, A. Low fixed-dose hydroxyurea in severely affected Indian children with sickle cell disease. Hemoglobin, 36(4), 323-332. Low and fixed dose of hydroxyurea is effective and safe in patients with HbSβ+ thalassemia with IVS1‐5 (G→ C) mutation.