Background: Thalassemia major (TM) is one of the most common hereditary anemia with multiple endocrinopathies (especially hypogonadism). So, we evaluated the rate of delayed puberty (DP) and its relation with serum ferritin level in patients.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study was conducted on 100 patients with TM between 14-64 years old, admitted to Amirkola Thalassemia Center, Babol, Iran, in 2016. The pubertal status, (Marshall-Tanner scale), existance of DP, and its different types were evaluated. Mean serum ferritin level was measured and the data were classified to three groups of <1500, 1500-2500, and >2500 ng/ml. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version20).
Results: Out of 100 patients, 64 (64%) and 36 (36%) were female and male, respectively. Considering age, 23, 77 patients (%) were under and over 20 years old, respectively. Totally, 69 (69%) of them had DP, of whom 64 (92.8%) ones had secondary (central) hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Mean serum ferritin level (±SD) was 2707.94±1683.42 ng/ml. In addition, 26, 29, and 45 patients had ferritin level <1500, 1500-2500, and >2500 ng/ml, respectively. Thirty two patients with DP (46.4%) had ferritin level above 2500 ng/ml (p-value= 0.623).
Conclusion: The results showed a high frequency of DP in TM patients, requiring careful examination and follow-up in terms of puberty for early diagnosis and proper treatment to improve their quality of life, and prevention of the complications like osteoporosis. We couldn't find any significant relationship between serum ferritin level and hypogonadism, even for cases who received enough iron chelators.
 

Background: Hyperglycemia is one of the most complications of corticosteroid and asparaginase during induction phase of chemotherapy in children suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
This study was carried out to evaluate the incidence of hyperglycemia and associated risk factors during chemotherapy induction phase at Amirkola Children's Hospital.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional (retrospective) study, 150 children (mean age: 79.16±42.68 months) with ALL were evaluated (2000- 2011). Hyperglycemia was described as random blood glucose level more than 200mg/dl in patients less than 2 years old. In patients older than 2 years, fasting blood glucose level more than 110-125 mg/dl was considered as impaired glucose level and fasting blood glucose level more than 126 mg/dl was defined as diabetes mellitus. The data were analyzed using SPSS (version 18) and running chi square test, pearson Ccorrelation, and logistic regression. P-values less than0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Out of 150 children with ALL, 21 (14%) of them had hyperglycemia, but none of them had diabetic ketoacidosis. Hyperglycemia was significantly associated with gender (P=0.014) and age. (P=0.000) which was more likely in patients older than 10 years. The incidence of hyperglycemia was also related to BMI (P=0.000). Relapse rate for ALL was 14.7%, which was not significantly associated with hyperglycemia.
Conclusion: Hyperglycemia was common and transient during induction phase of chemotherapy and it was correlated with age, sex, and weight.