Abstract

Background and Objectives

Splenectomy creates complications such as sepsis, thrombosis, pulmonary hypertension, altered immune status in patients with thalassemia major. These patients undergo hemochromatosis complications with non-normative treatment. This study aims at determining the incidence of splenectomy, the average age of onset of blood transfusions and frequency of regular iron chelation therapy in patients with thalassemia Major in Iran conducted through Meta-Analysis method.

Materials and Methods

This study is based on documentations obtained from the databases including Magiran, Iran medex, IranDoc, SID, Medlib, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar from 1993 to 2015 and the standard keywords. Searches were independently carried out by two researchers. The data were combined using Random Effects Model through Meta-Analysis Method by Stata Ver.11.1 software.

Results

In 21 studies, 4017 samples were analyzed. The incidence of splenectomy in patients with thalassemia major was estimated to be 38.8% (CI 95%:31.4-46.2). The minimum and maximum of this range were related to the West (25%) and the East (44%) of the country. The average age of onset of blood transfusions and frequency of iron chelation therapy were estimated to be 11.86 months (CI 95%:7.86-16.05) and 54.6 % (CI 95%:28-81.2), respectively.

Conclusions

Given that a large percentage of patients with thalassemia major are treated with irregular iron chelation therapy, it is recommended measures such as training and awareness-raising activities to be taken for thalassemia patients.