Department of Haematology, University College London, UCL Cancer Institute, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Int J Hematol. 2011 Nov;94(5):453-60. doi: 10.1007/s12185-011-0927-3. Epub 2011 Oct 13.
Due to advances in medical sciences, many chronic diseases that formerly resulted in early death can now be effectively managed with long-term treatment regimens. Patients with potentially fatal anemias, for example, can be treated with ongoing blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy. Ensuring adherence and persistence is challenging, as the benefits of therapy are not perceived immediately. Poor adherence severely compromises the effectiveness of treatment and, therefore, improving compliance in terms of quality of life and health economics is critical. Although adherence to chelation therapy is generally poor, the availability of oral iron chelators may help to improve patient compliance. For chronic conditions such as thalassemia major, even when oral chelation therapy is available, support by an integrated team including a clinical psychologist and nurse specialist working with the treatment center is recommended to achieve optimal results.
由于医学科学的进步，许多以前导致早期死亡的慢性疾病现在可以通过长期治疗方案有效地进行管理。例如，患有潜在致命性贫血的患者可以通过持续输血和铁螯合疗法进行治疗。由于治疗的益处不是立即显现的，因此确保患者的依从性和持续性是具有挑战性的。治疗效果不佳会严重影响治疗效果，因此，提高患者的依从性对于改善生活质量和健康经济学至关重要。尽管螯合疗法的依从性通常较差，但口服铁螯合剂的可用性可能有助于提高患者的依从性。对于像重型地中海贫血这样的慢性疾病，即使有口服螯合疗法，建议由包括临床心理学家和护士专家在内的综合团队提供支持，与治疗中心合作，以达到最佳效果。
