Causes for hospitalization and death in Iranian patients with β-thalassemia major

There are limited studies that have focused on the causes for hospitalization as an indicator of morbidity in patients with β-thalassemia major (BTM). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the main causes for hospitalization and death in hospitalized BTM patients in a referral hospital in Shiraz, southern Iran. During a 5-year period, 555 BTM patients were admitted to the hospital, of which 390 (67.7%) were 10 to 20 years of age. The most frequent causes for hospitalization were splenectomy (23%), heart failure (22.6%), liver biopsy (22.2%), uncontrolled diabetes (10.9%), arrhythmia (7.2%), cholecystectomy (3.8%), hypoparathyroidism (2.1%), and sepsis (2%). Of the hospitalized patients, 65 (11%), with a mean age of 16.1 ± 4.2 years, died. The most common causes of death were cardiomyopathy (72.3%), infections (17%), malignancies (3.1%), and cerebrovascular accidents (3.1%). Survival of our patients was less than in developed countries and cardiac complications were the most common cause of mortality and morbidity in these patients. Regarding the key role of iron chelation in prevention of different complications in BTM, correction of iron chelation regimen should be well considered.