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Prevention of Conversion to Abnormal Transcranial Doppler With Hydroxyurea in Sickle Cell Anemia: A Phase III International Randomized Clinical Trial

key information

source: American Journal of Hematology

year: 2015

authors: Hankins JS, McCarville MB, Rankine-Mullings A, Reid ME, Lobo CL, Moura PG, Ali S, Soares DP, Aldred K, Jay DW, Aygun B, Bennett J, Kang G, Goldsmith JC, Smeltzer MP, Boyett JM1, Ware RE

summary/abstract:

Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and conditional transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound velocities (170-199 cm/sec) may develop stroke. However, with limited available clinical data, the current standard of care for conditional TCD velocities is observation. The efficacy of hydroxyurea in preventing conversion from conditional to abnormal TCD (≥200 cm/sec), which confers a higher stroke risk, has not been studied prospectively in a randomized trial. Sparing Conversion to Abnormal TCD Elevation (SCATE #NCT01531387) was a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded Phase III multicenter international clinical trial comparing alternative therapy (hydroxyurea) to standard care (observation) to prevent conversion from conditional to abnormal TCD velocity in children with SCA. SCATE enrolled 38 children from the United States, Jamaica, and Brazil [HbSS (36), HbSβ(0) -thalassemia (1), and HbSD (1), median age = 5.4 years (range, 2.7-9.8)]. Because of the slow patient accrual and administrative delays, SCATE was terminated early. In an intention-to-treat analysis, the cumulative incidence of abnormal conversion was 9% (95% CI = 0-35%) in the hydroxyurea arm and 47% (95% CI = 6-81%) in observation arm at 15 months (P = 0.16). In post hoc analysis according to treatment received, significantly fewer children on hydroxyurea converted to abnormal TCD velocities when compared with observation (0% vs. 50%, P = 0.02). After a mean of 10.1 months, a significant change in mean TCD velocity was observed with hydroxyurea treatment (-15.5 vs. +10.2 cm/sec, P = 0.02). No stroke events occurred in either arm. Hydroxyurea reduces TCD velocities in children with SCA and conditional velocities.

organization: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis; Tropical Medicine Research Institute (TMRI), University of the West Indies,Jamaica; Instituto De Hematologia Arthur Siqueira Cavalcanti (HEMORIO), Rio De Janeiro; Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York; Wake Forest University School of Medicine,North Carolina; National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda; Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

DOI: 10.1002/ajh.24198

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