Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Pre-Transfusion Hemoglobin Level and Frequency of Transfusion in Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia Patients in Indonesia

Abstract

Transfusion-dependent thalassemia is the most severe form of thalassemia; patients require regular blood transfusions to maintain their hemoglobin level. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the routine measures for controlling chronic diseases like thalassemia. This study aims to measure the difference in pre-transfusion hemoglobin levels and the frequency of transfusions before and during pandemic. This retrospective cross-sectional study utilized medical record data of 101 transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) patients treated in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (CMH) from 2019–2021. The dependent variables of this study were pre-transfusion hemoglobin level and transfusion attendance. The pre-pandemic phase was defined as 30 March 2019 to 29 March 2020, whereas the during-pandemic phase was from 30 March 2020 to 29 March 2021. Up to 59.4% of subjects had suboptimal Hb levels of p value p-value = 0.990). Our study shows poorer control of pre-transfusion Hb levels during the pandemic. This puts patients at higher risk of developing many long-term complications.

Keywords

• thalassemia
• transfusion-dependent thalassemia
• COVID-19
• pre-transfusion hemoglobin level
• transfusion