Evaluation of iron chelation therapy in adults with Beta-Thalassemia major in Hilla city

Background: People with thalassemia can have too much iron in their bodies. This overload can come from the disease itself or from regular blood transfusions. Excess iron can harm the heart, liver, and endocrine system. Objectives: This study aims to show how effective Deferasirox therapy is in lowering iron levels in thalassemia patients. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 30 patients and a healthy control group from November 2022, to February 2023. The participants were gathered from the maternity hospital’s Department of Genetic Diseases in Babylon Province, Iraq. The patients were newly diagnosed, and the data included the sex of the patients—male and female—aged between 18 and 35 years, with a total of 20 patients. We collected data related to serum calcium and serum ferritin from medical records in the maternity hospital’s Department of Genetic Diseases. The control group included 10 healthy men and women from the general population who visited the hospital and do not have beta thalassemia major. We analyzed serum ferritin and serum calcium levels. Results: We found a significant increase in serum ferritin in patients before and after blood transfusions in beta thalassemia major when compared to healthy controls. We also observed a significant decrease in serum calcium in patients before and after blood transfusions in beta-thalassemia major compared to healthy controls. Conclusion: The treatment for removing excess iron from the body is effective. However, the repeated blood transfusions for patients reduce the effectiveness of Deferasirox in promoting iron excretion.