Factors Related to the Quality of Life in Children with Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia.

Objective: Increased survival rate of patients with Transfusion-dependent Thalassemia (TDT) should be in line with their good quality of life (QoL). The study aimed to analyze the relationship between sociodemographic factors and clinical characteristics with the QoL of children with TDT. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital from December 2022 to February 2023. A total of 158 eligible subjects aged 5-18 years with TDT were included in the analysis. QoL assessment was performed using child self-report and parent-proxy report questionnaires, along with physical examination findings. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to analyze the data. Results: A total of 158 subjects who met the research criteria were included in the analysis. Of 58.9% of children with TDT had a low adherence rate to iron chelating therapy (ICT). School function had the lowest score in QoL based on child-self report and parent proxy. Gender (p<0,05) and adherence to ICT (p<0,05) were significantly associated with lower quality of life. Conclusion: Female and adherence to ICT were predictors of children with TDT's QoL.

Extended family thalassemia screening as a feasible alternative method to be implemented in identifying carriers in West Java, Indonesia.

The thalassemia screening program in Indonesia mostly conducted sporadically. Ideal prospective screening is still limited. This study aimed to compare thalassemia screening methods using the extended family approach with and without a history of severe thalassemia and the feasibility of implementing extended family screening method. A case control study was conducted in Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung with 3 generations of extended families. Data were collected from 150 subjects of 8 extended families with severe thalassemia as an index case entry and 151 subjects of 12 families with no history of thalassemia. All subjects were examined for Hb, MCV, MCH, and peripheral blood smear (PBS) as initial laboratory examinations. Subjects with MCV < 80 fL, MCH < 27 pg, and suggestive findings on PBS continued hemoglobin analysis. Carrier status was determined by definition. All subjects consented to undergo screening and voluntarily participated. The proportion of thalassemia carriers and the participation rate between the 2 groups were compared. Sixty-four of 150 (42.7%) and 16 of 151 (10.6%) carriers were identified in both the case and control group (p < 0.001). The participation rate was 42-88 vs. 23-100% (p = 0.244). The mean age was 31.9 ± 21.2 vs. 31.1 ± 20.8 years (p = 0.782). The median family size was 28.5 vs. 20 subjects per family (p = 0.245). The types of identified thalassemia carrier in both groups consisted of ß-thalassemia, ß-thalassemia/HbE, suspected α-thalassemia, and ß-thalassemia Hb variant. All carriers continued the counseling process. The extended family method seems feasible to be implemented for thalassemia screening in West Java, Indonesia.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of undergraduate medical students in Indonesia on the COVID-19 prevention.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a global pandemic since March 2020. Undergraduate medical students were encouraged to educate Indonesian society about COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Indonesian students on COVID-19 prevention. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted online between August 22 and September 2, 2020, with a minimum sample size of 1,068 subjects. The questionnaire was sent to 86 Faculty of Medicine (FoM) in Indonesia. The questionnaire consisted of knowledge, attitude, and practice section, with the scores above median were considered as sufficient knowledge, positive attitude, and positive practice. Association between knowledge, attitude, and practice, which were dependent variables, with gender, year of study, location of FoM, and source of information, which were independent variables, were tested using Chi-Square Test. Correlation among knowledge, attitude, and practice scores was tested using Spearman Rank Test. RESULTS: Among 1,390 participated students, 51.4, 55.7, and 56.3% had sufficient knowledge, positive attitude, and, positive practice, respectively. There were associations between knowledge and gender (p = 0.005), year of study (p = 0.000), location of FoM (p=0.000), and source of information (p = 0.000); between attitude and gender (p = 0.022), year of study (p = 0.004), and source of information (p = 0.015); and between practice and gender (p = 0.000) and source of information (p = 0.000). There were weak correlations between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.246, p<0.001); and between attitude and practice (r = 0.272, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Half of Indonesian medical students showed sufficient knowledge, positive attitude, and positive practice on COVID-19 prevention. Hence, improvement towards COVID-19 prevention is required.

Serum TNF-α Level as a Possible Predictor of Inhibitor Levels in Severe Hemophilia A.

BACKGROUND: The development of factor VIII (FVIII) inhibitor in patients with hemophilia A (PWHA) is a great challenge for hemophilia care. Both genetic and environmental factors led to complications in PWHA. The development of inhibitory antibodies is usually induced by the immune response. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), one of the cytokines, might contribute to its polymorphism. In this study, we investigated the clinical factors, level of serum TNF-α, and polymorphism of c.-308G > A TNF - α gene in inhibitor development in severe PWHA. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among all PWHA in West Java province. The clinical parameters, FVIII, FVIII inhibitor, and serum TNF-α level were assessed. The genotyping of -380G > A TNF-α gene polymorphism was performed using polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Among the 258 PWHA, 216 (83.7%) were identified as severe PWHA. The FVIII inhibitor was identified in 90/216 (41.6%) of severe PWHA, consisting of 45 high-titer inhibitors (HTI) and 45 low-titer inhibitors (LTI). There was a significant correlation between serum TNF-α level and the development of HTI (p = 0.043). The cutoff point of serum TNF-α level, which can be used to differentiate between HTI and LTI, was 11.45 pg/mL. The frequency of FVIII replacement therapy was significant only in HTI of severe PWHA regarding serum TNF-α level (p = 0.028). There is no correlation between polymorphisms of -380G > A TNF-α gene and inhibitor development (p = 0.645). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of FVIII inhibitor in severe PWHA in West Java, Indonesia, was 41.6%. The frequency of replacement therapy is a risk factor for inhibitor development. Serum TNF-α level might be used to differentiate between high and low inhibitor levels in severe hemophilia A, and this might support decision making regarding treatment options for inhibitor in severe hemophilia A.

Iron Status in Newly Diagnosed ß-Thalassemia Major: High Rate of Iron Status due to Erythropoiesis Drive.

BACKGROUND: Iron overload in severe ß-thalassemia is a serious complication that occurs during the course of the disease. Information about the iron status during initial illness with ß-thalassemia major seemed to be limited. This study is aimed at analyzing iron status, serum hepcidin, and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) levels in newly diagnosed ß-thalassemia major. METHODS: A case-control study was performed at Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, which included 41 children with newly diagnosed ß-thalassemia major. Age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. The subjects had no blood transfusion, had normal liver function, and had no sign of inflammation. The groups were compared in terms of the levels of hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF), transferrin saturation (TS), serum hepcidin, and GDF15 as iron homeostasis parameters. RESULTS: Of the 41 newly diagnosed ß-thalassemia major patients, those who were less than 24 months old had significantly lower median Hb levels than controls (5.0 vs. 11.7 g/dL, P < 0.001). The median SF and TS levels were significantly higher than those in controls (315.0 vs. 29.0 ng/mL, P < 0.001; 70.6 vs. 16.5%, P < 0.001), and median hepcidin was at the normal limit, but the value was higher in patients (251.0 vs. 123.1 ng/mL, P < 0.001). The median GDF15 level was significantly higher in patients (2,095.3 vs. 342.4 pg/mL, P < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between SF-TS, SF-hepcidin, TS-hepcidin, SF-GDF15, TS-GDF15, and hepcidin-GDF15 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In newly diagnosed ß-thalassemia major, an increase in iron status occurred. This may be caused by increased iron absorption due to massive erythropoietic activity, characterized by an increase in GDF15 levels, which does not cause hepcidin suppression. The iron homeostasis response seems to be physiologically indicated by a tendency to increase hepcidin levels.