Abstract
Background: Iron overload in thalassemia patients may lead to the occurrence of many complications, one of which is an impaired immune response. Neutrophil phagocytosis remains as a controversy among thalassemia patients, which can be mainly attributed to difference in transfusion requirements, splenectomy status, iron overload, or iron chelator agents used. Iron chelators are primarily used to decrease the burden of iron overload and improve immune response. This study aims to evaluate neutrophil phagocytosis following the administration of different iron chelators. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Subjects were healthy thalassemia major patients above 12 years old who were seronegative-HIV and receiving iron chelation therapy for at least 1 year. Neutrophil phagocytosis was measured using the Phagotest® kit, with a reference value of 96.899.6%. Results: Among the 116 subjects, 68 (58.6%) were female and 48 (41.4%) were male. The median age of subjects was 21 years old (range 12-38). Fifty-percent of all subjects had undergone splenectomy. The iron chelators used included deferiprone (55%), desferoxamine (22%), deferasirox (14%), and combination therapy (9%). The mean ferritin level was 5,256.50 ng/mL (range 645-21,835). Mean percentage of neutrophil phagocytosis (%) for the subjects receiving desferoxamine, deferiprone, deferasirox, and combination therapy were 46.75 (±29.77), 43.21 (±26.0), 48.10 (±30.67), and 39.58 (±24.43) respectively (p=0.868). Conclusions: There were no significant differences observed in neutrophil phagocytosis receiving various iron chelators. Neutrophil phagocytosis in thalassemia patients was comparatively lower to that in healthy individuals. It needs other strategy may be implemented to improve neutrophil phagocytosis.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Event | 2nd MEGMA CONFERENCE on Thalassaemia & other Haemoglobinopathie - JO, Amman, Jordan Duration: 1 Jan 2016 → … |
Conference
Conference | 2nd MEGMA CONFERENCE on Thalassaemia & other Haemoglobinopathie |
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Country/Territory | Jordan |
City | Amman |
Period | 1/01/16 → … |
Keywords
- Neutrophil phagocytosis, thalassemia, iron chelator.