What is the future of patient-reported outcomes in sickle-cell disease?

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a complex, chronic disease caused by abnormal polymerization of hemoglobin, which leads to severe pain episodes, fatigue, and end-organ damage. Patient reported outcomes (PROs) have emerged as a critical tool for measuring SCD disease severity and response to treatment.

Authors review the key issues involved when deciding to use a PRO in a clinical trial. We describe the most highly recommended generic and disease-specific PRO tools in SCD and discuss the challenges of incorporating them in clinical practice.

PRO measures are essential to incorporate into SCD clinical trials either as primary or secondary outcomes. The use of PRO measures in SCD facilitates a patient-centered approach, which is likely to lead to improved outcomes. Significant challenges remain in adapting PRO tools to routine clinical use and in developing countries.