Assessment of neutrophil function in polytransfused patients with thalassemia major

Abstract EN

Alterations in both cellular and humeral immunity have been reported in patients with β-thalassemia.

Severe pyogenic infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality and the mechanisms underlying this high susceptibility are multi-factorial but as yet are not fully elucidated.

This work aimed to study the phagocytic activity of peripheral blood neutrophils in patient's withβ- thalassemia and to evaluate the effect of circulating ferritin on polymorph nuclear (PMN) phagocytosis.

Twenty patients (12 males and 8 females) aged 2-28 years were enrolled in this study in addition to 10 healthy controls, age and sex matched.

Patients were regularly transfused to keep the Hb level at 9 g /dl and they were chelated with desferrioxamine.

All patients and controls were subjected to full history taking, complete blood picture (CBC), iron profile serum iron, (TIBC and serum ferritin ), liver profile and HCV detection, phagocytosis and measurement of respiratory burst were done.

A statistically significant decrease in phagocytosis was found in patients compared to controls.

However, no statistical difference was observed concerning respiratory burst between the two groups.

In addition, a statistically significant increase in serum ferritin was found in patients compared to controls with a negative statistical significance between serum ferritin and phagocytosis, and a positive significant correlation between the phagocytic function and deferoxamine intake.