Table 3.
Clinical and haematological parameters of the subjects before and after hydroxyurea therapy (n = 54)
| Parameters | Pre-HUT | Post-HUT | RR | 95% CI | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency (%) | Frequency (%) | ||||
| Clinical | |||||
| Number of VOC | |||||
| ≤2 | 27 (50) | 52 (96.3) | 0.07 | 0.02–0.23 | <0.001 |
| >2 | 27 (50) | 2 (3.7) | |||
| Number of blood transfusion | |||||
| ≤1 | 45 (83.3) | 53 (98.1) | 0.11 | 0.02–0.85 | 0.016 |
| >1 | 9 (17.7) | 1 (1.9) | |||
| Number of hospitalizations | |||||
| ≤2 | 30 (55.5) | 52 (96.3) | 0.08 | 0.02–0.34 | <0.001 |
| >2 | 24 (44.5) | 2 (3.7) | |||
| Duration of hospital stay (days) | |||||
| ≤7 | 17 (31.5) | 51 (94.4) | 0.08 | 0.02–0.24 | <0.0001 |
| >7 | 37 (68.5) | 3 (5.6) | |||
| Acute chest syndrome | |||||
| No | 48 (88.9) | 54 (100.0) | 0.10 | 0.02–0.41 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 6 (11.1) | 0 (0.0) | |||
| Haematologic | |||||
| (Median/IQR) | (Median/IQR) | Za | |||
| Haematocrit (%) | 26.0 (22.0–27.0) | 28.0 (26.0–30.8) | −5.01 | – | <0.0001 |
| White blood cell count (×109/l) | 11.1 (7.3–14.6) | 6.2 (4.7–10.4) | −5.08 | – | <0.0001 |
| Platelet count (×109/l) | 411 (272–492) | 337 (246.5–400.5) | −2.78 | – | 0.005 |
| Foetal Hb (%) | 7.8 (4.6–12.9) | 14.0 (11.7–20.3) | −6.39 | – | <0.0001 |
a
Wilcoxon signed ranks test.
HUT, hydroxyurea therapy; VOC, vaso-occlusive crisis; RR, relative risk; IQR, interquartile range; Hb, haemoglobin.