Russell E Ware, Barry R Davis, William H Schultz, R Clark Brown, Banu Aygun, Sharada Sarnaik, Isaac Odame, Beng Fuh, Alex George, William Owen, Lori Luchtman-Jones, Zora R Rogers, Lee Hilliard, Cynthia Gauger, Connie Piccone, Margaret T Lee, Janet L Kwiatkowski, Sherron Jackson, Scott T Miller, Carla Roberts, Matthew M Heeney, Theodosia A Kalfa, Stephen Nelson, Hamayun Imran, Kerri Nottage, Ofelia Alvarez, Melissa Rhodes, Alexis A Thompson, Jennifer A Rothman, Kathleen J Helton, Donna Roberts, Jamie Coleman, Melanie J Bonner, Abdullah Kutlar, Niren Patel, John Wood, Linda Piller, Peng Wei, Judy Luden, Nicole A Mortier, Susan E Stuber, Naomi L C Luban, Alan R Cohen, Sara Pressel, Robert J Adams
BACKGROUND: For children with sickle cell anaemia and high transcranial doppler (TCD) flow velocities, regular blood transfusions can effectively prevent primary stroke, but must be continued indefinitely. The efficacy of hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea) in this setting is unknown; we performed the TWiTCH trial to compare hydroxyurea with standard transfusions. METHODS: TWiTCH was a multicentre, phase 3, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority trial done at 26 paediatric hospitals and health centres in the USA and Canada...
February 13, 2016: Lancet