Calcium Channel Blockers in Conjunction with Standard Iron-Chelating Agents for β-Thalassemia Major: Systematic Literature Search

Department of Family Medicine, Qurayyat General Hospital, Al Jouf, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Department of Community Medicine, Saudi Board of Family Medicine, Al Qurayyat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Department of Environmental Health, Al-Qurayyat Health Affairs General Directorate, Qurayyat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Hemoglobin. 2021;:1-7
Full text from:
Abstract
Thalassemia is a genetic mutation of the α- or β-globin chains that lead to defective erythropoiesis. This study aimed to collect evidences from all published studies that investigated the clinical effectiveness of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) in conjunction with chelation therapy for reducing iron overload in patients with thalassemia. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Virtual Health Library. Original studies reporting the use of CCBs in patients with thalassemia were included for meta-analysis. A total of five randomized studies including 210 patients were included with a follow-up period of 3-12 months. There was no significant difference between amlodipine and control groups in increasing the heart T2* magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [mean difference (MD) 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = -1.9 (-4.4 to 0.5), p = 0.119] or reducing the liver iron concentration [MD 95% CI = -0.046 (-0.325 to 0.2), p = 0.746]. Although there were no serious adverse events reported in the included trials, further studies are recommended to strengthen our findings.
Study details
Study Design : Systematic Review
Language : eng
Credits : Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine