ABSTRACT
Lung function abnormalities in patients with thalassemia major are various, complex and of different etiological backgrounds. To evaluate the pulmonary function changes during both rest and integrated cardiopulmonary exercise in patients with thalassemia major, we studied 30 thalassemia major cases with mean age of 18 +/- 13.34 years. Nineteen healthy subjects were enrolled as a control group. Routine laboratory tests as well as assessment of pulmonary function test during both rest and integrated cardiopulmonary exercise were performed for cases and controls, Both forced vital capacity [FVC] and forced expiratory flow in the first second [FEV1] were significantly reduced in cases than in controls [p<0.01 for both], pointing to a restrictive pulmonary dysfunction. Seventy percent of cases had FVC below the normal predicted value. Functional capacity, anaerobic threshold and °2 pulse were significantly reduced in cases than controls [p<0.05]. There is a statistically significant inverse correlation between serum ferritin levels and functional capacity. In the studied thalassemics, restrictive pattern of pulmonary dysfunction is the predominant abnormality. Poor cardiopulmonary exercise performance occurs and is multifactorial