ABSTRACT
Intercessory prayer [IP] is one of the newly recognized holistic treatment methols and its effectiveness has been documented on the mangement of difterent diseases such as coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and infertility. This study aims to d etemine its effectiveness on ferritin and blood indices of major thalassemic patients. This was an interventionaI study assessing seven patients attending an outpatient clinic receing IP in addition to their routine treatment. In all IP was performed 5.56 times for each patient as close-Iaying of hands and 6 times as remote IP. Before the study, the mean hemoglobin was 9.7 mg/dI, which increased to 10.8 afterwards [P = 0.028]. Mean serum ferritin was 2246.8 before the intervention which decreased to 1680.8 afterwards. Blood transfusion interval doubled in four patients. Dizziness and fatigue, which were reported by two patients before intervention, disappeared afterwards. Three patienis reporled an improvement in their school penfllrmance after the study. This pilot study showed that intercessory prayer was effectlve in increasing hemoglobin and transfusion interval, decreasing ferritin and improving school performance in patients with major thalassemia. A larger randomized trlal is suggested corfirm the results