Effects of prophylactic treatment regimens in children with severe haemophilia: a comparison of different strategies

Both Sweden and the Netherlands have a long experience with primary prophylaxis in children with severe haemophilia. In these countries it has been offered to all children for the last 3-4 decades. In Sweden prophylaxis is generally started at an earlier age with a higher dosage and frequency than in the Netherlands. Patients in the Netherlands receive a more individually tailored regimen, with prophylaxis now started after the first one or two joint bleeds and dosages are increased when breakthrough bleeds occur. The current study evaluated the effect prophylaxis on long-term outcomes and the consumption of clotting factor concentrates in Dutch and Swedish cohorts. Our results show that the orthopaedic outcome in the oldest groups of patients from Sweden and the Dutch cohorts were comparable, although the Swedish patients used twice as much clotting products per year. In the youngest patients, joint status is very good and further follow-up is necessary to demonstrate the benefits of either strategy. In conclusion, more individually tailored regimens aimed at preventing bleeding prevent joint damage in children with severe haemophilia, while clotting factor consumption is about half of that in previously described regimens.