Table 1.
Patient and disease characteristics of the current study.
| Parameter | Frequency | Number of evaluated patients | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic data | |||
| Age (years) | |||
| <18 | 90 | 159 | 56.6 |
| 18-35 | 55 | 159 | 34.6 |
| >35 | 14 | 159 | 8.8 |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 90 | 159 | 56.6 |
| Female | 69 | 159 | 43.4 |
| Splenectomized | 52 | 159 | 32.7 |
| Serum ferritin (μg/L) | |||
| <1000 | 122 | 159 | 76.7 |
| >1000 | 37 | 159 | 23.3 |
| Treatment | |||
| None transfused | 33 | 159 | 20.7 |
| Occasional transfusion | 75 | 159 | 47.2 |
| Regular transfusion | 51 | 159 | 32.1 |
| Iron chelation | 63 | 159 | 39.6 |
| Hydroxyurea | 75 | 159 | 47.2 |
| Complications | |||
| Facial deformity | 99 | 159 | 62.3 |
| ∗Osteoporosis | 17 | 60 | 28.3 |
| ∗∗Growth retardation | 17 | 90 | 18.9 |
| ∗∗∗Subclinical hypothyroidism | 22 | 131 | 16.8 |
| ∗∗∗∗Cholelithiasis | 19 | 137 | 13.8 |
| Pulmonary hypertension | 18 | 159 | 11.3 |
| Abnormal liver function | 12 | 159 | 7.5 |
| Thrombosis | 2 | 159 | 1.3 |
| EMH | 1 | 159 | 0.6 |
| Leg ulcer | 1 | 159 | 0.6 |
∗Osteoporosis and ∗∗∗subclinical hypothyroidism were evaluated in patients ≥ 10 years old and/or symptomatic, ∗∗growth retardation (height > 2SD below 3rd percentile for the mean age and gender) in patients ≤ 18 years, and ∗∗∗∗cholelithiasis estimated in 137 patients excluding the 22 patients that underwent cholecystectomy.