Prevalence and Management of Transfusional Iron Overload in Syrian Beta Thalassemia Major Patients Pre and during the Syrian Conflict

Table 1

Comparison of the patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics between the 2009 (preconflict) and 2019 (during conflict) cohorts.

Characteristics	2009 (preconflict) cohort; ()	2019 (during conflict) cohort; ()	value
Age (years)
Median (Range)	14 (3-32)	10 (3-34)	<0.0001
Sex, (%)
Males	102 (49.76%)	87 (50.58%)	0.8732
Females	103 (50.24%)	85 (49.42%)
Number of blood units transfused per month	2-3 units	2-3 units
Hb prior to blood transfusion; Median (g/dL) (Range)	8.7 (7.2-9.5)	8.1 (6.7-9.9)	<0.0001
Iron chelation regimen, (%); Age (years), Median (Range)
DFO	81 (39%)	28 (16.3%)	0.0085
	13 (4-29)	16 (3-32)
DFP	20 (10%)	47 (26.3%)	0.0034
	9 (7-10)	12 (4-34)
DFO+DFP	43 (21%)	50 (29.1%)	0.671
	15 (10-32)	15 (3-29)
DFX	61 (30%)	21 (12.2)	0.1341
	7 (3-19)	6 (3-11)
No ICT for six years (2012-2018)	0 (0%)	26 (15.1%)	—
		15 (9-29)

was considered statistically significant.