Back to Search Results

Amlodipine as adjuvant therapy to current chelating agents for reducing iron overload in thalassaemia major: a systematic review, meta-analysis and simulation of future studies

Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya. Online Research Club, Nagasaki, Japan. Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt. Neurosurgery Department, El Sheikh Zayed Specialized Hospital, Giza, Egypt. Egyptian National Blood Transfusion Services, Alexandria, Egypt. Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt. Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, Egypt. Jose Michel Kalaf Research Institute, Radiologia Clinica de Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam. School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.

Vox sanguinis. 2021
Full text from:

Other resources

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Iron overload in thalassaemia is a crucial prognostic factor and a major cause of death due to heart failure or arrhythmia. Therefore, previous research has recommended amlodipine as an auxiliary treatment to current chelating agents for reducing iron overload in thalassaemia patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis of the results of three randomized clinical trials evaluating the use of amlodipine in thalassaemia patients through 12 databases were carried out. RESULTS Our final cohort included 130 patients. Insignificant difference in decreasing liver iron concentrations was found between amlodipine and control groups {weighted mean difference = -0·2, [95% confidence interval = (-0·55-0·15), P = 0·26]}. As regards serum ferritin, our analysis also showed no significant difference in serum ferritin between amlodipine and control groups {weighted mean difference [95% confidence interval = -0·16 (-0·51-0·19), P = 0·36]}. Similarly, there was insignificant difference in cardiac T2* between amlodipine and control groups {weighted mean difference [95% confidence interval = 0·34 (-0·01-0·69), P = 0·06]}. CONCLUSIONS Despite the growing evidence supporting the role of amlodipine in reducing iron overload in thalassaemia patients, our meta-analysis did not find that evidence collectively significant. The results of our simulation suggest that when more data are available, a meta-analysis with more randomized clinical trials could provide more conclusive insights.
Study details
Study Design : Systematic Review
Language : eng
Credits : Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine