Risk Factors of Teawtrakul et al for Severe Infection in a Patient with Non-Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia

 

Patient selection: non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT)

 

Outcome: severe bacterial infection (septicemia, meningitis, abscess)

 

Risk factors for severe infection:

(1) splenectomy with time since operation > 10 years

(2) serum ferritin > 1,000 ng/mL (µg/L)

(3) deferoxamine therapy

 

where:

• These all had p values less than 0.05 in univariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis.

• There are iron chelating agents other than deferoxamine.

 

It is important to monitor thalassemia patients for iron overload and to detect and treat infection early.