A prospective randomized controlled trial has been conducted among young patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) to gauge whether clinical interventions to improve patients’ hydroxyurea adherence led to improvement in their health-related quality of life (QoL). Their findings, published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer, suggest that such clinical efforts indeed have favorable QoL effects in this population.
“Findings of this study contribute to the evolving understanding of the impact of interventions to improve hydroxyurea adherence on HRQoL [health-related QoL] in youth with SCD,” wrote first author Arlene Smaldone, PhD, MA, BS, PNP-PC, CDCES, of Columbia University School of Nursing, New York City, and colleagues.
The specific trial in which the authors performed their investigation was the multi-site Hydroxyurea Adherence for Personal Best in Sickle Cell Treatment, or “HABIT,” efficacy trial. Its cohort included 50 patients with an average age of 13.3 years; 24 patients were enrolled in a hydroxyurea adherence intervention program, which featured text message reminders and engagement with community health workers, and 26 patients were assigned to a control group.