Hydroxyurea use in prevention of stroke recurrence in children with sickle cell disease in a developing country: A

Colette Cunningham-Myrie1, Abdullahi Abdulkadri2, Andre Waugh3

  • 1Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica.

We undertook a cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) of hydroxyurea (HU) in preventing stroke recurrence and/or death. We followed 43 children with sickle cell disease from 2000 to 2009 after having a first clinical stroke, of whom 10 opted for HU therapy. HU use led to decreased stroke recurrence and death without significantly increasing the annual cost of care per patient (J$83,250 vs. J$76,901, P = 0.491). The incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) for prevention of stroke recurrence amounted to J$169,238 (US$1,900), while that for death prevention equalled J$635,843 (US$7,140). HU may be recommended when safe and affordable transfusion therapy is not feasible.

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