Table I.
Characteristics of the six Chinese patients with β-thalassaemia major who developed RBC alloantibodies.
| Patient N. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | Male | Female | Female | Male | Female |
| RBC alloantibody | Anti-E | Anti-C | Anti-E | Anti-E | Anti-E | Anti-“Mia” |
| Age at initiation of transfusion therapy (months) | 7.3 | 3.5 | 7.2 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 8.5 |
| Age at detection of RBC alloantibody (years) | 5.1 | 11.3 | 17.1 | 18.7 | 20.1 | 28.9 |
| Amount of blood received prior to detection of the RBC alloantibody (units)* | 220 | 392 | 352 | 250 | 448 | 464 |
| Duration of RBC alloantibody persistence (months) | 1.1 | 1.5 | 10.3 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 3.5 |
| Splenectomy | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Number of transfusion reaction episodes prior to detection of the RBC alloantibody | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Manifestation of transfusion reaction | Fever, skin rash | Skin rash | Fever, skin rash | Skin rash | Skin rash | Haemolysis |
| Management of transfusion reaction | Diphenhydramine and acetaminophen | Diphenhydramine | Diphenhydramine and acetaminophen | Diphenhydramine | Diphenhydramine | Supportive treatment |
| Time from 1st transfusion reaction episode to detection of antibody (months) | 28 | 33 | 17 | 50 | 20 | 25 |
Legend
*
One unit of packed RBC is derived from 250 mL of whole blood in Taiwan.