Anesthetic management of a patient with β -thalassemia and superimposed pneumonia

Beta-thalassemia is an autosomal hematological disorder that is the result of genetically deficient synthesis of beta-globin chains of hemoglobin. Beta-thalassemia is one of the most common single-gene disorders with 400,000 new borns affected per year worldwide. Patients present with severe microcytic hypochromic anemia, massive hepatosplenomegaly, and bony deformities. Infection is a major complication and the leading cause of death in thalassemia out of which Pulmonary disease was the most common cause of mortality. In this report we aimed to discuss our experience with a case of beta-thalassemia major with massive splenomegaly superimposed pneumonia in a child presenting for splenectomy.