Adherence to hydroxycarbamide in children with sickle cell disease

Eva Tsouana, Basildon Hospital, discusses her work in measuring adherence to hydroxycarbamide in paediatric patients with sickle cell disease. With a current lack of a standardised biomarker or objective assessment tool for measuring adherence, her team assessed adherence using various methodologies and they subsequently identified markers that may influence adherence based on patient and treatment characteristics. Patient-reported adherence were found to be higher than adherence assessed by laboratory markers and MPRs. Further research and qualitative interventions are needed to measure and improve adherence to hydroxycarbamide. This interview took place at the RCPCH conference 2024 in Birmingham, UK.