Height velocity and its relation with serum ferritin and pretransfusion haemoglobin in thalassemia patients: results from a tertiary center in Northeast India

Authors

  • Bikashita Mahanta Department of Pediatrics, Jorhat Medical College, Jorhat, Assam, India
  • Ananta Kumar Nath Department of Pediatrics, Jorhat Medical College, Jorhat, Assam, India
  • Pranabjit Biswanath Department of Pediatrics, Jorhat Medical College, Jorhat, Assam, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20223061

Keywords:

Height velocity, Thalassemia, Serum ferritin

Abstract

Background: ẞ-thalassemia syndromes are the commonest single gene disorders in the Indian population and growth failure remains a major concern among these patients.

Methods: We studied the relation of height velocity with serum ferritin and pretransfusion hemoglobin in 30 transfusion dependent thalassemia patients aged 1-12 years attending our centre. The height measurements were taken every 6 months for one year. Serum ferritin was measured 3 monthly and pretransfusion hemoglobin was measured at each visit.

Results: The prevalence of impaired height velocity in transfusion dependent thalassemics in our study was 56.67%. The mean pretransfusion hemoglobin was 7.8±1.065 g/dl and the mean serum ferritin level in our study was 2426±872 ng/ml. In thalassemia patients with height velocity < 3rd percentile mean serum ferritin level was 2637±892.84 ng/ml while the mean serum ferritin level in patients with height velocity >3rd percentile was 1875±564.007 ng/ml with a statistically significant relation (p=0.012). Although the mean pretransfusion hemoglobin in children with height velocity <3rd percentile was found to be lower compared to their counterparts with height velocity >3rd percentile (7.42±0.879 g/dl vs. 7.96±0.998 g/dl), this relation was found to be statistically insignificant (p value=0.127).

Conclusions: Our study highlights that even though regular blood transfusions are essential in thalassemic patients, maintaining an optimal ferritin level is equally essential in influencing growth in these children.

 

Author Biography

Bikashita Mahanta, Department of Pediatrics, Jorhat Medical College, Jorhat, Assam, India

JR, Department of Pediatrics

Jorhat medical college

References

Smith-Whitley K, Kwiatkowski JL. Hemoglobinopathies. In: Kliegman RM, ST Geme J, Blum N, Tasker RC, Shah SS, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2019:2540-54.

Badiger S, Baruah A. A study of growth pattern in regularly transfused thalassaemic children of age group of 2 years to 12 years. Int J Contemp Pediatr. 2019;6(4):1575.

Nokeaingtong K, Charoenkwan P, Silvilairat S, Saekho S, Pongprot Y, Dejkhamron P. A longitudinal study of growth and relation with anemia and iron overload in pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2016;38(6):457-62.

Moiz B, Habib A, Sawani S, Raheem A, Hasan B. Anthropometric measurements in children having transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Hematology. 2018;23(4):248-52.

Pemde HK, Chandra J, Gupta D, Singh V, Sharma R, Dutta A. Physical growth in children with transfusion-dependent thalassemia. Pediatr Heal Ther. 2011;2:13-9.

Mishra AK, Tiwari A. Iron overload in Beta thalassaemia major and intermedia patients. Maedica. 2013;8(4):328-32.

Riaz H, Riaz T, Khan MU, Aziz S, Ullah F, Rehman A, et al. Serum ferritin levels, socio-demographic factors and desferrioxamine therapy in multi-transfused thalassemia major patients at a government tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan. BMC Res Notes. 2011;4(1):287.

Alias H, Latiff ZA, Zulkifli S, Zakaria S, Jamal R. Growth velocity in transfusion dependent prepubertal thalassemia patients: Results from a thalassemia center in Malaysia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2008;39(5):900-5.

Soliman AT, ElZalabany M, Amer M, Ansari BM. Growth and pubertal development in transfusion-dependent children and adolescents with thalassaemia major and sickle cell disease: A comparative study. J Trop Pediatr. 1999;45(1):23-30.

Downloads

Published

2022-11-24

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles