| Popis: |
Hydroxyurea (HU) is a well-known Hb F-inducing agent with proven clinical and laboratory efficacy for patients with sickle cell disease. However, concerns about its long-term safety and toxicity have limited its prescription by physicians and acceptability by patients. Thus, this study aims to evaluate clinician’s barriers to the use of HU in the management of patients with sickle cell disease in Nigeria. An online survey targeted physicians in pediatrics, hematology, medicine, family medicine and general medical practice managing sickle cell disease in Nigeria. The survey was in four sections: demographic, knowledge and experience with HU, and barriers to the use of HU. Ninety-one (73.0%) of 123 contacts completed the survey. Seventy-three percent and 74.0% of the respondents noted that HU reduced transfusion rates and improved overall quality of life (QOL) of patients, respectively. While the majority of the practitioners (55.6%) see between 10-50 patients per month, most (66.7%) write |
