A systematic review on hydroxyurea therapy for sickle cell disease in India

• Published in: Indian journal of medical research (New Delhi, India : 1994) India : 1994), 2022-08, Vol.156 (2), p.299-311
• Main Authors: Pandey, Apoorva, Kaur, Harpreet, Borah, Sapan, Khargekar, Naveen, Karra, Vijay Kumar, Adhikari, Tulsi, Jain, Dipty, Madkaikar, Manisha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anemia, Sickle Cell - drug therapy; Anemia, Sickle Cell - epidemiology; Antisickling Agents - adverse effects; Care and treatment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dosage and administration; Evaluation; Hemoglobin; Humans; Hydroxyurea; Hydroxyurea - adverse effects; Practice: Systematic Review; Prospective Studies; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Sickle cell anemia; Sickle cell disease; Systematic review; Toxicity
• ISSN: 0971-5916; 0975-9174
• DOI: 10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_3447_21

Sickle cell disease (SCD) constitutes frequently inherited haemoglobin disorders and poses a significant health burden in India. Hydroxyurea (HU), the most commonly used drug, has shown promising results in the clinical management of SCD. The present systematic review was undertaken to assess the efficacy and toxicity of HU in Indian sickle cell patients. A systematic review of studies on HU therapy was conducted to identify the application of HU and its outcome(s) across India. PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library was used as data sources for various studies on the efficacy and toxicity of HU therapy for treatment for SCD in India published between January 2001 and October 2021. Two authors independently extracted the data on study design, patient characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of HU in order to determine the study quality of the present review. Overall, 14 studies were included for a systematic analysis. Of these 11 were prospective, two cross-sectional and one double-blind randomized controlled trial. Low-dose HU (10 mg/kg/day) was found to reduce the rates of vaso-occlusive crisis and hospitalization as well as decreased the requirement of blood transfusion in SCD patients. The foetal haemoglobin (HbF) level was recorded in 13 (80%) studies all of whom reported an elevation in the HbF levels, with a mean increase in per cent HbF from 15.8 to 21.4 per cent across studies. The common adverse events were reversible, mild-to-moderate cytopenia and anaemia. The findings of the present review suggest that there is still insufficient information presently to determine the long-term or major adverse effects on organ damage, fertility as well as pregnancy on the use of HU therapy for SCD. Long-term multi-centric studies are thus required to address these problems.