The Thalassemia center of Antalya State Hospital: 15 years of experience (1994 to 2008).

The Thalassemia center of Antalya State Hospital was established in 1994 in Antalya, Turkey. The number of newborns with thalassemia decreased statistically because of actions taken as a result of prevention studies. A total of 388 patients, including 246 with thalassemia major (63.4%), 86 with thalassemia intermediate (22.1%), 23 with sickle cell+β-thalassemia (5.9%), 20 with sickle cell disease (5.1%), and 13 with other hemoglobin abnormalities (3.3%), were studied. Complications were found to be as follows: cardiomyopathy in 45 of them (11.5%), diabetes mellitus in 10 (2.5%), hypothyroidism in 17 (4.3%), hypoparathyroidism in 2 (0.5%), osteoporosis in 53 (13.6%), growth retardation in 110 (28.3%), and hypogonadism in 75 patients (19.3%). The incidence of autoantibody and alloantibody in patients with thalassemia major was 5.6% and 10.5%, respectively. Transfusion-transmission diseases evaluated in patients found the incidence of hepatit A virus IgG to be 97.5%, that of HBs Ab to be 99.5%, HBs Ag to be 0.5%, HCV Ab to be 18%, CMV IgG to be 72.3%, CMV IgM to be 2%, and HIV-Ab to be 0%. Therefore, for the first time in our country the thalassemia center was established as a model and included subunits and a team. It served all patients for 15 years until the team was dispersed; thereafter, most of the patients were not followed up on a regular basis.