Abstract
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a congenital haemoglobinopathy that causes frequent acute care/emergency room visits and hospital admissions for affected individuals. Evidence from population-based studies demonstrating the role of hydroxycarbamide (HC, also termed hydroxyurea) in reducing hospital readmission rates is limited. Our objective was to describe the use of HC and its association with acute care utilization and readmission rates using a large, nationally-representative US health insurance claims database over a 6-year period between 2009 and 2014. We identified 20 721 SCD-related inpatient and acute care encounters. Patients had been exposed to HC within 6 months prior to admission in 4263 (21%) of SCD-related admission events. HC use was more common among children aged 10-17 years and young adults aged 18-29 years. HC was associated with lower 30-day all-cause readmission rates in adults treated with average daily doses ≥1 g (odds ratio [OR], 0·72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0·52-0·99) and doses of 0·5-1 g (OR, 0·73, 95% CI 0·57-0·93), compared to HC treatment with average daily doses of <0·5 g; adherence to HC with proportion of days covered of ≥0·80 was also associated with significantly lower 30-day all-cause readmission risks (OR, 0·59, 95% CI 0·41-0·84). Optimal therapeutic dosing and adherence to HC treatment significantly reduces 30-day readmissions among patients with SCD.