[Epidemiological, clinico-biological, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of β-thalassemia in Morocco].

OBJECTIVE

Thalassemias is the consequence of a synthesis imbalance between the α and β chains of hemoglobin. It's a hereditary haemolytic anemias, which presents a problem of public health because of their frequency and the difficulties of their care. The objective of this work is to study the epidemiological, clinico-biological, therapeutic and evolutionary profile of thalassemic patients in Morocco.

METHODS

We're reporting the results of a retrospective multicenter study on all cases of thalassemia taken at the hospitals: Avicenne military hospital in Marrakech, Mohammed VI hospital in Marrakech and the regional center for blood transfusion in Agadir.

RESULTS

During this period we collected 81 cases of thalassemias. The average age was 13 years (from 1 month to 60 years) with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.8. The reason for consultation was anemia in 43% of cases. The electrophoresis of hemoglobin has shown a predominance of the β-thalassemia minor form. On the evolutionary level, iron overload and endocrine complications were the most frequent.

CONCLUSION

The development of a prevention program based mainly on health education, the reduction of consanguineous marriages and genetic counseling, are probably the main ways of combating the emergence of new thalassemic cases.