Raihan Sajid, Farooq Ghani, Salman Adil, Mohammad Khurshid.
Oral Iron chelation therapy with Deferiprone in patients with Thalassemia Major.
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;59(6):388-90.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and adverse effects of deferiprone in patients with Thalassemia Major. Methods: A prospective case series study was conducted at the Fatimid Foundation Blood Bank and Haematological Diseases center Lahore. A total of 87 patients entered into the study between September 2005 and November 2006. Deferiprone was given at subsidized rates at a dose of 75/mg/day for seven days. Physical examination and initial Laboratory investigations were done in all patients at the start of the study. Physical and laboratory data were filled on a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version10.0. Results: Eighty seven patients with mean age of 10.0 ± 4.33 years (range 4-27 years) were included in the study. Mean follow up was 8 ± 3.94 months (range 2-12 months). The mean Ferritin at the start of study was 4656 ± 2052.5 ug/L (range 1200-14630 ug/L) and at the end of study period was 4139 ± 1710.4 ug /L (range 749-8961) (p < 0.001). Adverse events were joint pains in 10 % patients, gastrointestinal symptoms in 11% and no adverse events in 79 % patients. There was no evidence of agranulocytosis in any patient. Conclusion: Deferiprone was well tolerated, had few adverse effects and was effective in lowering the patient`s serum ferritin level (JPMA 59:388; 2009).

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