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Long-term response to deferiprone therapy in Asian Indians

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An Erratum to this article was published on 02 September 2009

Abstract

Deferiprone (L1) has been used in several countries for iron chelation therapy for over one decade. Long-term results on the drug are lacking. In the present study, data of 110 patients on deferiprone (L1) for up to 17 years were analyzed. On a mean L1 dose of 70.2 mg/kg/day (range 44–100), serum ferritin level showed a very steady decrease with time from an initial mean (±SD) of 3,033.61 ± 1,468.04 ng/ml to final of 1,665.08 ± 949.93 ng/ml after a mean (±SD) of 6.1 ± 3.8 years. In total, 13 patients discontinued L1 therapy. Major complications of L1 requiring permanent discontinuation of treatment included arthropathy (n = 8, 7.2%) and neutropenia/agranulocytosis (n = 5, 4.5%). Lesser complications permitting continued L1 treatment included transient mild leucopenia or thrombocytopenia (n = 3) and gastrointestinal problems (n = 5). There were a total of three deaths attributed to agranulocytosis. Although the complications associated with L1 treatment are significant and require close monitoring, they do not preclude effective long-term therapy in the vast majority of patients. A longer duration of therapy is required for effective response in chronically iron-overloaded patients. Further well-controlled prospective studies of L1 are required to identify factors affecting individual response to therapy.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Mr Rajiv for technical assistance. We are also grateful to Mr S. Kapoor for help in the data retrieval and analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hemato-Oncology & Genetics Units, Department of Pediatrics, Advanced Pediatrics Centre (APC), Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India

    Inusha Panigrahi, Ram K. Marwaha, Rashmi R. Das, Amita Trehan & Deepak Bansal

  2. Advanced Pediatrics Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh, 160012, India

    Inusha Panigrahi

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  1. Inusha Panigrahi
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  2. Ram K. Marwaha
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  3. Rashmi R. Das
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  4. Amita Trehan
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  5. Deepak Bansal
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Correspondence to Inusha Panigrahi.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00277-009-0825-4

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Panigrahi, I., Marwaha, R.K., Das, R.R. et al. Long-term response to deferiprone therapy in Asian Indians. Ann Hematol 89, 135–140 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-009-0797-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-009-0797-4

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