ABSTRACT
Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ozone therapy on haemoglobin level and transfusion requirements in children with thalassemia in Alexandria University Children's Hospital
Methods:A total of 30 patients were included in this study. Each of the included patients were subjected to a thorough history taking, clinical examination and laboratory investigations. Each patient received 36 sessions during 3 months period via rectal route
Results: The mean age of studied children was 6.70 +/- 1.52 years and they were 50% males, and 50% female. There was no significant statistical difference between the patients regarding age, sex and other socio-demographic parameters such as family history of thalassemia and the age of diagnosis. There was significant increasing in the interval between PRBCs transfusion and improvement in Hb level during and after ozone therapy. There was significant reduction in reticulocytic count during and after the zone therapy which means significant improvement in it. There were no significant change in serum ferritin level and liver function tests [ALT and AST] before, during and after the ozone therapy
Conclusions: The current study shows that ozone therapy is, at all times, an additive [adjuvant or complementary] therapy, in combination with the other conventional methods of treatment. The treatment of ozone via rectal insufflation [RI] route is easy and cheap. Ozone therapy can improve the interval and frequency of blood transfusion in these patients and also can improve the reticulocytic count. Ozone therapy had no effect on serum ferritin level or on liver function tests