Intermittent Pamidronate Treatment in Thalassaemia-induced Osteoporosis

Purpose: In this study, we determined osteoporosis by Dual Energy X-Ray (DXA) and the effectiveness of pamidronate treatment in 24 thalassaemic patients in the Pediatric HematologyUnit of Erciyes University. Material and Methods: Twenty-four thalassaemic patients with an age range of 6-22 years (14 girl, 10 boy, mean age: 11.20 ± 3,9) were included in the study. Bone mineral densities of lumbar vertebrae L1-L4 and femur neck were measured by DXA method. Z score of bone mineral densities of vertebrae L1-L4 was below 2.5 in 9 patients (37.5 %), -1 to 2.5 in 14 patients (58.3%) and was normal in one patient. Pamidronate treatment (15 mg/dose for patients at age 15 below, 30 mg/dose at age above 15, per three months for one year) was given to 23 osteoporotic (Z score below 2,5) and osteopenic (Z score 1 to 2,5) patients with bone pain and history of bone fracture. Results: The mean Z score of L1-L4 was -2.34 ± 0.77 (Mean BMD: 0.555 ± 0.106) at the beginning and -2.17 ± 0.88 (Mean BMD: 0.587 ± 0.107) after one year. There was a statistically significant difference between results of BMD at the beginning and after 12 months. Conclusion: Pamidronate treatment is effective in thalassaemia-induced osteoporosis.