Comparison of Deferoxamine, Deferiprone and Deferasirox Iron-Chelating Agents in Reducing Serum Ferritin Levels in Patients with Thalassemia Major

Aims: Patients with thalassemia major suffer from iron overload due to excessive cell lysis. Iron-chelating agents are used to preventing the effects of iron overload on the body. Deferoxamine, deferiprone, and deferasirox are the most common iron-chelating agents. The aim of this study was to compare deferoxamine, deferiprone, and deferasirox iron-chelating agents in reducing serum ferritin levels in patients with thalassemia major. Instrument Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 114 thalassemia major patients in the Cooley’s ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Yasuj, Iran, in 2018 who had been taking iron supplements for the past year. Census sampling was done. After recording patients’ information, such as age, sex, and type of iron used, the blood sample was taken from the patients to measure serum ferritin and the results were analyzed using SPSS 22 software and multivariate analysis of variance. Findings: The mean serum ferritin level was 3438.70±2872.88 ng/ml. 14 patients were taking deferoxamine, 62 patients were using deferiprone, and 38 patients were consuming deferasirox. There was no significant difference between iron-chelating agents in reducing ferritin levels (p 0.05). Also, there was no significant difference between males and females in terms of decreased ferritin levels (p 0.05). Conclusion: There is no difference between deferoxamine, deferiprone and deferasirox iron-chelating agents in reducing the ferritin levels of patients with thalassemia and all can be administrated considering the cost, availability, condition, and patient’s desire.