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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffPossible complications of thalassemia include:
- Iron overload. People with thalassemia can get too much iron in their bodies, either from the disease itself or from frequent blood transfusions. Too much iron can result in damage to your heart, liver and endocrine system, which includes glands that produce hormones that regulate processes throughout your body.
- Infection. Thalassemia increases your risk of developing a blood-borne infection related to blood transfusions, such as hepatitis, which is a virus that can damage your liver.
In cases of severe thalassemia, the following complications can occur:
- Bone deformities. Thalassemia can make your bone marrow expand, which causes your bones to widen. This can result in abnormal bone structure, especially in your face and skull. Bone marrow expansion also makes bones thin and brittle, increasing the chance of broken bones, particularly in your spine. Spine factures can result in compression of your spinal cord.
- Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly). The spleen helps your body fight infection and filter unwanted material, such as old or damaged blood cells. Thalassemia often destroys a large number of red blood cells, making your spleen work harder than normal, causing it to enlarge. Splenomegaly can make anemia worse, and it can reduce the life of transfused red blood cells. If your spleen grows too big, it may need to be removed.
- Slowed growth rates. Anemia can cause a child's growth to slow. Children with severe thalassemia rarely reach a normal adult height. Due to endocrine problems, puberty also may be delayed in these children.
- Heart problems. Heart problems, such as congestive heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), may be associated with severe thalassemia.
References
- What are thalassemias? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Thalassemia/Thalassemia_All.html. Accessed Nov. 19, 2008.
- Cunningham MJ. Update on thalassemia: Clinical care and complications. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2008;55:447.
- Benz EJ. Clinical manifestations of the thalassemias. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Schrier SL. Pathophysiology of beta thalassemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Embury SH. Prenatal testing for the hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Benz EJ. Treatment of beta thalassemia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
