Antimetabolite Drug in Patients with Sickle Cell Diseases in Hematological Center of Kerbalaa Training Hospital

Abstract

Background: The antimetabolite drug increase fetal hemoglobin level and reduce the frequency of crisis in sickle cell disease patients.
Aim: To evaluate the effect of antimetabolites (hydroxyurea) in cases with frequent sickling crisis of sickle cell disease and non-transfusion dependent thalassemia in Karbala training hospital from April 2016 till December 2020.
Patient and Methods: From eighty-one patients conducted in this case control study, forty were received hydroxyurea and the other forty-one patients were not. monitoring every two weeks in the first three months by sending for investigations (Hb, WBC, platelet count and blood urea and serum creatinine) in addition to an assessment of drug side effects. The remaining forty-one patients who refused drug therapy we consider them as a control group.
Result: The case group who received hydroxylurea had crisis mostly after 12 weeks from last crisis, whereas the control group had crisis mostly each 3 to 7 weeks in P value 0.0001. There was no side effect in 77.5% of cases received hydroxyurea. The remaining 22.5% of cases had less or nonspecific side effects.
Conclusion: In patients with sickle cell diseases who suffered from recurrent episodes of crisis, Hydroxyurea therapy significantly decreases the frequency of the painful crisis, with low level of side effects in comparison with control group.