A substantial variation in hydroxyurea utilization for pain and other sickle cell disease complications in children has been found in a new study by researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee.
Barriers to its use on the part of both providers and patients were also identified. The study led by Amanda M. Brandow, DO, MS, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College and Children's Research Institute at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, will be presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting Dec. 7, 2009, in New Orleans.
The study was funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Brandow is an NIH sickle cell scholar.
Sickle cell disease is often marked by episodes of severe and incapacitating pain called vaso-occlusive painful events, which can sometimes require hospitalization. Hydroxyurea, an oral drug that is most commonly taken once daily, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in sickle cell disease patients in 1998. While hydroxyurea remains the standard of care for reducing these painful events in adults, little is known about its practice patterns in children.
The researchers surveyed members of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology about their practices and patients to evaluate patterns and barriers to hydroxyurea use. Of the 1,128 surveys disseminated, 31 percent (350 surveys) were returned.