[Effect of two years of deferoxamine therapy on iron balance, ferritin, liver and heart in patients with thalassemia major].

The iron balance, the urinary excretion of iron between transfusions, the serum ferritin, the liver density, the size of the heart, the ECG and the echocardiogram of 14 children with thalassaemia major were assessed before and during or after 2 years of deferoxamine therapy (DF, 1 or 2 g/kg body weight/day according to age, by subcutaneous infusion on 5 days per week, 11 months per year). The mean iron balance decreased significantly (p less than 0.001) from 15.4 +/- 4 mg/kg body weight/month before DF to -7.1 +/- 9.4 mg/kg body weight/month in the first year of DF and increased to -2.5 +/- 6.5 mg/kg body weight/month during the second year of DF therapy. Despite administration of a constant dose of DF the urinary excretion of iron during the last days before transfusion was twice as high as during the first days after transfusion. The mean serum ferritin level fell from 6380 +/- 2600 ng/ml before DF to 5074 +/- 1600 ng/ml during the first and 4346 +/- 1900 ng/ml during the second year of DF therapy (p less than 0.05). There was no significant change in liver density or cardiac parameters.