Thalassaemic individuals who may have new issues have an enhanced life expectancy with routine transfusion and chelation treatment. Therefore, for a study, researchers sought to assess the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical effects of hypercalciuria in β-thalassemia major (TM), a condition for which there is a paucity of information.
The study included 176 adult TM patients monitored at the Ferrara Thalassemia Center. A calciuria of 4 mg/kg/day or above in a 24-hour urine sample was considered hypercalciuria. Data from anamnestic, biochemistry, and radiology were gathered. Patients with a prevalence of hypercalciuria of 69.3% (females 52.5%) were reported. Deferasirox (DFX) was utilized by hypercalciuric (HC) patients more frequently than by normocalciuric (NC) patients (47.5% vs. 29.6%; P<0.05).
When compared to NC patients, plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in HC participants were lower (24.1±10.4 vs. 30.1±13.2 pg/ml) and phosphate levels were higher (3.6±0.5 vs. 3.8±0.7 mg/dl) than in NC patients, whereas serum calcium (9.6 ± 0.4 vs. 9.4±0.4 mg/dl) and urinary 24-hour phosphaturia were greater(0.9 ± 0.4 vs. 0.6±0.3 g/day) as compared to NC patients (P<0.05 for all comparisons). Cholecalciferol and oral calcium supplements were given to all groups equally. However, the prevalence of kidney stones was greater in HC patients (14.8%) compared to NC patients (3.7%) (P<0.05).
In adult TM patients who have received appropriate treatment, hypercalciuria was a prevalent consequence. While hemoglobin levels or calcium supplements had no effect, the prevalence of hypercalciuria increased among DFX users. In addition, kidney stones occurred in a large number of HC patients.
Reference: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjh.18345
