Basic thalassaemia care at a thalassaemia care centre in peshawar-are we heading forward?

Objective: to determine the beneficial effects of counseling and improved transfusion regimen in thalassaemics,as observed by the improvement in pre-transfusion haemoglobin. material and methods: the study was conducted at fatimid foundation peshawar. out of 550 β thalassaemia major (btm) cases,250 control cases received 5000 transfusions. in the rest 300 cases,4921 transfusions were given after counseling for maintaining pre-transfusion hb around 10 gm/dl. mean pre-transfusion hb for the day for the month and for the year was established in both groups. results: there was a steady rise in mean pre-transfusion hb from 6.0 to 8.6 gm/dl in the counseled group in one year,with 16 transfusions/ patient/ year. annual blood transfused was 130 ml/ kg/ year/ patient. conclusion: awareness regarding management of thalassaemia was not adequate in patients/ parents. upon counseling,there was a substantial improvement in mean pre-transfusion haemoglobin level.