An alternative to continuous subcutaneous infusion of desferrioxamine in thalassaemic patients.

Sixteen patients with thalassaemia major were treated with subcutaneous desferrioxamine (DF) 50 mg/kg/d, 5 consecutive days a week, for 8 weeks. Every other week the total dose was administered by 12 h infusion pump or by rapid injection of the same dose (25 x 2 mg/kg) twice a day. The two methods of DF administration produced no significant differences in urinary iron excretion. No significant changes in serum ferritin levels were observed at the end of the study. Compared with continuous infusion, rapid injection is equally efficacious, does not induce serious side-effects, is better accepted by the patients, and can improve their compliance to the iron-chelating therapy.