Table 2.
Characteristics of Fractures in Subjects with Thalassemia, Transfused and Non-Transfused Sickle Cell Disease Subjects
| Characteristic, Unit | All Subjects (n=420) | Thal a (n=152) | Tx-SCD (n=203) | NonTx-SCD (n=65) | p-value (Thal vs. Tx-SCD) b | p-value (Tx-SCD vs. NonTx-SCD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fracture Prevalence, N (%) | 118 (28.1) | 59 (38.8) | 44 (21.7) | 15 (23.1) | <0.001 | NS |
| Females | 44 (20.1) | 19 (26.4) | 20 (17.4) | 5 (15.6) | NS | NS |
| Males | 74 (36.8) | 40 (50.0) | 24 (27.3) | 10 (30.3) | 0.002 | NS |
| No. Fracturesc, Mean±SD | 1.6 (1.1) | 1.9 (1.2) | 1.2 (0.5) | 1.9 (1.5) | 0.001 | 0.02 |
| Total number of fractures | 182 | 104 | 52 | 26 | ||
| Age at first fracture, Mean±SD | 13.7 (9.8) | 11.4 (8.1) | 17.2 (11.7) | 13.2 (7.5) | 0.01 | NS |
| Sites of Fracture | ||||||
| Upper Extremity | 98 (53.8) | 61 (58.7) | 23 (44.2) | 14 (53.8) | ||
| Lower Extremity | 53 (29.1) | 30 (28.8) | 19 (36.5) | 4 (15.4) | ||
| Spine, Back, Pelvis | 19 (10.4) | 10 (9.6) | 5 (9.6) | 4 (15.4) | ||
| Other/undefined | 12 (6.6) | 3 (2.9) | 5 (9.6) | 4 (15.4) | ||
| Cause of Fracture | ||||||
| Fall | 94 (51.6) | 59 (56.7) | 26 (50.0) | 9 (34.6) | ||
| Recreational | 43 (23.6) | 24 (23.1) | 10 (19.2) | 9 (34.6) | ||
| Motor Vehicle | 13 (7.1) | 9 (8.7) | 3 (5.8) | 1 (3.8) | ||
| Heavy Object | 6 (3.3) | 6 (5.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Other/Unknown | 26 (14.3) | 6 (5.8) | 13 (25.0) | 7 (26.9) | ||
| Treatment of Fracture | ||||||
| Cast/Splint | 144 (79.1) | 89 (85.6) | 38 (73.1) | 17 (65.4) | ||
| Surgery | 8 (4.4) | 3 (2.9) | 4 (7.7) | 1 (3.8) | ||
| Hospitalization | 6 (3.3) | 1 (1.0) | 1 (1.9) | 4 (15.4) | ||
| Not Treated | 14 (7.7) | 9 (8.7) | 3 (5.8) | 2 (7.7) | ||
| Unknown/not reported | 10 (5.5) | 2 (1.9) | 6 (11.5) | 2 (7.7) | ||
a
THAL: Thalassemic subjects; Tx-SCD: Transfused sickle cell subjects, NonTx-SCD subjects
b
p-values for differences between groups are based on Pearson’s chi-square tests for categorical variables or ANOVA for continuous variables. The p-value for age at splenectomy is determined using Kruskal-Wallis test. Superscripts denote differences between groups at p<0.05 using Pearson’s chi-square tests or Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney two-sample tests for age at splenectomy.
c
Average number of fractures in those who had fractured.