The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics (Jun 2018)

Chelation therapy for secondary neonatal iron over load: Lessons learned from rhesus hemolytic disease

  • Fareed Khdair-Ahmad,
  • Tariq Aladily,
  • Olfat Khdair-Ahmad,
  • Eman F Badran

DOI
https://doi.org/10.24953/turkjped.2018.03.018
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 60, no. 3

Abstract

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Secondary neonatal iron overload occurs with intrauterine and post-natal blood transfusions. Treatment with intravenous Deferoxamine was reported only in four cases in the literature. Herein we report a case of a patient born at 36 weeks of gestation, who had rhesus hemolytic disease. He developed secondary iron overload, causing liver injury, after a total of six blood transfusions: four intrauterine and 2 post-natal transfusion therapies. Intravenous Deferoxamine treatment was started at the age of 45 days due to a ferritin level of 40,000 mg/L, progressive rise of liver enzymes, and worsening cholestasis. Treatment resulted in marked reduction in ferritin level (down to 829 mg/L at the age of 6 months), significant improvement in the liver enzymes, and resolution of cholestasis.

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