Background and Objective: Beta-thalassemia is an autosomal recessive hemoglobinopathy that is thought to be the most common genetic mutation. Complications of iron overload and treatment processes are the most common cause of pain in these patients. Children with chronic diseases like thalassemia deal with a lot of pain during the diagnostic process, treatment and management of their disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate pain in patients with thalassemia major.
Methods: The present descriptive-analytical study was performed on 211 patients with beta-thalassemia major, referred to Ali Asghar Clinic in Zahedan in 2017. A brief pain inventory (BPI) questionnaire was used to collect patients’ information analyzed using Chi-square t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient.
Findings: The mean pain intensity was 1.72±2.60 score and 2.15±3.33 score in patients ≤15 years and >15 years, respectively (p=0.011). The mean pain intensity was 2.37±1.49 score and 3.52±2.33 score in patients receiving oral and injectable iron chelators, respectively (p=0.004). However, no significant relationship was found between pain intensity with gender and presence of cardiomyopathy.
Conclusion: Since the mean pain intensity is associated with increasing age and the type of iron depletion, these factors should be considered as the main pain generator factors in these patients.