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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload
Published on: March 14, 2017
Subcutaneous bolus injection of deferoxamine is an alternative method to subcutaneous continuous infusion
Neşe Yarali1, Tunç Fişgin, Feride Duru
1Dr. Sami Ulus Children's Hospital, Department of Hematology, Ankara, Turkey. yarali@ada.net.tr
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to compare the short- and long-term efficacy of deferoxamine (DFO) given by subcutaneous (SC) continuous infusion over 10 hours via a pump (n = 10) versus a twice-daily subcutaneous bolus injection of the same overall dose (n = 10) in 20 thalassemic children. Urinary iron excretion was measured in 24-hour urine samples after DFO treatment in the 20 patients. The patients were randomized to two groups: 10 patients continued SC continuous infusion with a pump and the remaining 10 received the same overall dose of DFO by twice-daily SC bolus injection for a year. Serum ferritin levels and T1-weighted spin-echo and T2-weighted fast spin-echo signal intensities of liver and paraspinal muscle were determined at initiation and 1 year after initiation of the therapy. In 12 patients, six from each group, liver biopsies were performed and hepatic iron concentration was determined at initiation of therapy and 1 year after treatment. A similar and significant decrease in ferritin levels and improvement in signal intensities of the liver were observed in response to chelation therapy with DFO in both groups (P < 0.01, within each group). Hepatic iron concentration decreased in all patients in the SC bolus injection group (P < 0.05) and in four patients in the SC continuous infusion group (P > 0.05). Hepatic iron concentration was noted to be slightly increased in two patients in the SC continuous infusion group, which may be due to poor compliance. Based on these results, twice-daily SC bolus injection of DFO is as effective as administration via SC continuous infusion using a pump. Subcutaneous bolus injection, being more convenient for the patient, may be a more preferable method of DFO administration.
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