Table I.
Descriptive statistics of the treatment groups at baseline. The p-values are for the comparisons between the combined desferrioxamine (DFO) + deferiprone (DFP) and DFP monotherapy groups and between the combined DFO+DFP and deferasirox monotherapy groups
| p-value | DFP (No.=61) | Combined DFO+DFP (No.=28) | DFX (No.=159) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 0.542 | 36.64±11.20 | 34.79±10.62 | 35.58±10.97 | 0.615 |
| Females, No. (%) | 0.149 | 27 (44.3) | 17 (60.7) | 86 (54.1) | 0.516 |
| Age at start of regular transfusions (months) | 0.933 | 12.59±11.08 | 12.04±9.29 | 16.40±17.22 | 0.728 |
| Units transfused in the last 12 months | 0.782 | 39.79±11.62 | 40.62±11.01 | 38.28±10.96 | 0.389 |
| Age at start of chelation (years) | 0.553 | 3.82±3.17 | 3.40±1.45 | 4.07±3.55 | 0.842 |
| Splenectomy, No. (%) | 0.019 | 44 (72.1) | 13 (46.4) | 85 (53.5) | 0.492 |
| Pre-transfusion hemoglobin (g/dL) | 0.169 | 9.51±0.40 | 9.66±0.47 | 9.58±0.46 | 0.478 |
| Mean ferritin (ng/mL) | 0.005 | 815.15±1,140.32 | 1,359.76±1,187.56 | 782.33±637.71 | 0.009 |
| MRI LIC (mg/g dw) | 0.421 | 4.85±5.21 | 8.33±10.27 | 5.76±8.77 | 0.090 |
| MRI LIC >3 mg/g dw, No. (%) | 0.296 | 32 (52.5) | 18 (64.3) | 64 (40.3) | 0.018 |
| Global heart T2* (ms) | 0.002 | 38.47±6.55 | 26.69±15.39 | 38.20±8.76 | <0.0001 |
| Global heart T2* <20 ms, No. (%) | <0.0001 | 2 (3.3) | 10 (35.7) | 12 (7.5) | <0.0001 |
| Global pancreas T2* (ms) | <0.0001 | 11.94±9.57 | 6.23±4.59 | 15.08±11.56 | <0.0001 |
| Global pancreas T2* <26 ms, No. (%) | 0.062 | 54 (88.5) | 28 (100) | 129 (81.1) | 0.012 |
| Altered glucose metabolism, No. (%) | 0.447 | 34 (55.7) | 18 (64.3) | 44 (27.7) | <0.0001 |
DFP: deferiprone; DFO: desferrioxamine; DFX: deferasirox; No.: number; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; LIC: liver iron concentration; dw: dry weight.