1 research outputs found
Serum Folate Levels in Major Beta Thalassemia Patients
Objective: Beta major thalassemia is a variant of beta thalassemia
syndrome which could be treated with bone marrow transplantation or if
not available, regular blood transfusion. In the latter case,
supportive therapy is the mainstay of treatment because of low folate
intake or absorption. But the main cause of insufficient supportive
therapy is the increasing need of bone marrow for ineffective
erythropoiesis in the absence of regular blood transfusion. The purpose
of regular blood transfusion in β major thalassemia patients is to
maintain the range of hemoglobin level between 9 and 11 gr/dl to stop
insufficient erythropoiesis completely. Therefore, by regular blood
transfusion, supportive therapy with folic acid would not be needed.
The aim of this study is to determine serum folate level in regular
transfused β major thalassemia patients in Mofid Children's
Hospital during 2006. Methods: This is a cross sectional
descriptive–analytic study performed on 100 β major
thalassemia patients receiving regular blood transfusion and desferal.
Post-storage leukodepleted blood is used for transfusion.
Patients’ data is achieved from information data sheets. Serum
folate level is determined with Electrochemiluminescence method in one
of the most reliable laboratory centers. Normal serum folate level was
3-17.5 ng/ml in this laboratory with the sensitivity of 0.6 ng. Data
analysis is performed with SPSS analysis software, and with chi
squared, T-test and Spearman test. Findings: 56 (56%) girls and 44
(44%) boys entered this study with a median age of 156 (± 71.2)
months and an age range of 14-288 months. Patients’ median
hemoglobin level was 9.5 (±0.87) g/dl, with minimum of 7.5 and
maximum of 11.9 g/dl. Mean MCV was 84.2 (±4.20) fl, with the range
of 73.4 -95.3 fl. Serum folate level was in the range of 1-19 ng/ml and
median of 9 (± 4.9) ng/ml. Serum folate was less than 3 ng/ml in
3% of evaluated patients. Hemoglobin level was equal or more than 9
g/dl in 73% of patients. Conclusion: It seems that if major β
thalassemia patients receive regular blood transfusion, their serum
folate level would be in normal range and supplementation therapy with
folate will not be necessary