Department of Pediatrics, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
 Research Article   
								
																Safety and Efficacy of Early Use of Iron Chelation in Infants and Toddlers  with Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia: A Multicenter Prospective  Study 
																Author(s): Mohsen Elalfy, Amira Adly*, Amal Elbeshlawy, Mona Hamdy, Tamer Hassan, Mohamed Meabed, Rasha El Ashry, Khalid Elsayeh, Seham Rageb, Mohamed Elshanshoury, Naglaa Shahein, Mahmoud El-Hawy, Gihan Lofty, Saad Shehata, Islam Elghamry, Yasser Wali and Omar Elalfy             
								
																
						 Background: There are limited data on the efficacy and safety of oral iron chelators in infants and toddlers and
  cite the Deferiprone (DFP) and Deferasirox (DFX) label that states that those chelators were not studied in children
  under the age of 2 and 3 years respectively. The current study was designed to assess the long-term safety and efficacy
  of DFX and DFP in this young population.
Methods: A 2-year prospective multi-center, investigator-initiated non-interventional study of infants and children
  with TDT after at least 4 blood transfusions, naïve to chelation. The children started either on DFX at a dose of 20
  mg/kg/day-25 mg/kg/day or DFP at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day-75 mg/kg/day. Throughout the study all patients were
  subjected to through history and clinical examination stressing on detailed transfusion data, compl.. View more»