Ameer Ahmad0.
Assessment of level of awareness and utilization of treatment options in Thalassemic children.
Pak Paed J Jan ;30(4):188-92.

Objective: To assess the level of awareness and utilization of treatment options in thalassemic children. Study design: Cross-sectional study Place and duration of study: Thalassemia centre of Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur over a period of 2 months from March 2006-April 2006. Patients and methods: This study was performed on 90 diagnosed patients of thalassemia. All of these patients came for routine blood transfusion in the thalassemia unit of Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur. The parents of the patients were interviewed regarding their level of awareness and utilization of treatment options of thalassemia. Data was analyzed with SSPS 10.0 computer program. Results: There were 48(53%) male patients and 42(47%) female patients with male to female ratio of 1:1.4. The mean age for diagnosis and first blood transfusion was 6.5 months. . All patients were receiving blood transfusions with mean of 60 transfusions per patient. Fifty five (61%) of the parents had knowledge about the chelation therapy. Only 16(17.5%) of the patients were receiving the oral chelation therapy. Fifty one (56%) parents knew about the bone marrow transplantation as a treatment of thalassemia. Seventy one (79%) parents knew about the prenatal diagnosis of thalassemia. Conclusion: The management of thalassemia major in a developing country poses a major challenge to the health services. Impetus on prevention and development of more centers for curative treatment should be stressed.

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