Epidemiological, clinico-biological, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of beta-thalassemia in Morocco

摘要

Objective: Thalassemias is the consequence of a synthesis imbalance between the alpha and beta chains of hemoglobin. It's a hereditary haemolytic anemias, which presents a problem of public health because of their frequency and the difficulties of their care. The objective of this work is to study the epidemiological, clinico-biological, therapeutic and evolutionary profile of thalassemic patients in Morocco. Methods: We're reporting the results of a retrospective multicenter study on all cases of thalassemia taken at the hospitals: Avicenne military hospital in Marrakech, Mohammed VI hospital in Marrakech and the regional center for blood transfusion in Agadir. Results: During this period we collected 81 cases of thalassemias. The average age was 13 years (from 1 month to 60 years) with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.8. The reason for consultation was anemia in 43% of cases. The electrophoresis of hemoglobin has shown a predominance of the beta-thalassemia minor form. On the evolutionary level, iron overload and endocrine complications were the most frequent. Conclusion: The development of a prevention program based mainly on health education, the reduction of consanguineous marriages and genetic counseling, are probably the main ways of combating the emergence of new thalassemic cases.