Quality of life of Egyptian b-thalassemia major children and adolescents :Mohsen S Elalfy, Maisa N Farid, Jonair H Labib, Heba K RezkAllah, The Egyptian Journal of Haematology

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2014 | Volume : 39 | Issue : 4 | Page : 222--226

Quality of life of Egyptian b-thalassemia major children and adolescents

Mohsen S Elalfy¹, Maisa N Farid², Jonair H Labib¹, Heba K RezkAllah³
¹ Department of Pediatrics, Thalassemia Center, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
² Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Postgraduate Childhood Studies, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
³ Department of Pediatrics, Sohag General Hospital, Sohag, Egypt

Correspondence Address:
Jonair H Labib
Department of Pediatrics, Thalassemia Center, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566
Egypt

Introduction b-Thalassemia major (B-TM) is a serious health problem in which children are in need of regular blood transfusions from a very young age to survive. They also need to receive iron chelation therapy to remove excess iron from their bodies, which imposes serious risk on their health and quality of life (QOL). Hence, this study was designed to assess the QOL of Egyptian B-TM children and adolescents in comparison with their healthy peers. Materials and methods A total of 127 B-TM patients and 65 healthy volunteers were enrolled and interviewed at the Ain Shams University Thalassemia Center. QOL assessment was made using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core Scale. Results The controls had higher QOL scores in all domains at the start of the study (P<0.0001). Compliant patients had higher total QOL scores (P = 0.004). High pretransfusion hemoglobin levels and low serum ferritin levels were independent predictors of better QOL scores. Conclusion B-TM patients had a poor QOL; high hemoglobin level and low iron overload were associated with improved QOL scores. Egyptian J Haematol 39:-0 © 2014 The Egyptian Society of Haematology.

How to cite this article:
Elalfy MS, Farid MN, Labib JH, RezkAllah HK. Quality of life of Egyptian b-thalassemia major children and adolescents.Egypt J Haematol 2014;39:222-226

How to cite this URL:
Elalfy MS, Farid MN, Labib JH, RezkAllah HK. Quality of life of Egyptian b-thalassemia major children and adolescents. Egypt J Haematol [serial online] 2014 [cited 2022 May 26 ];39:222-226
Available from: http://www.ehj.eg.net/article.asp?issn=1110-1067;year=2014;volume=39;issue=4;spage=222;epage=226;aulast=Elalfy;type=0