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Updated: May 7, 2026

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload
Published on: March 14, 2017
Compliance and satisfaction with deferasirox (Exjade®) compared with deferoxamine in patients with
Objective:
The current standard option for iron chelation therapy (ICT) in transfusion-dependent patients with beta-thalassemia is deferoxamine (DFO). We aimed to compare the compliance with DFO vs. deferasirox (Exjade®), a novel oral iron chelator, in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 220 patients from Southern Iran who were receiving DFO or Exjade® for the last 2 years were investigated in 2012. Satisfaction, compliance, convenience, and life disturbances of the patients with ICT were evaluated. Assessments were performed at four different occasions during 1 year.
Results:
According to the results, 114 patients received treatment with DFO and 106 patients were treated with Exjade®. In comparison with the patients who were treated with DFO, those receiving Exjade® reported a significantly higher rate of compliance and convenience (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding their satisfaction (P > 0.05). In the DFO group, 44.9% of the patients reported irritation and pain at the injection site.
Conclusions:
Considering higher rate of compliance and convenience with Exjade® and the comparable efficacy of these two modalities of ICT documented in previous studies, Exjade® can be used as a preferable choice of ICT in iron-overload patients with beta-thalassemia.
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