Trial reportBlood transfusion = Trasfusione del sangue2014
Erythrocytapheresis compared with whole blood phlebotomy for the treatment of hereditary haemochromatosis.
Trial report in Blood transfusion = Trasfusione del sangue, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guidelines on the Use of Therapeutic Apheresis in Clinical Practice-Evidence-Based Approach From the Writing Committee of the American Society for Apheresis: The Tenth Special Issue.Journal of clinical apheresis · 2026Guideline
- Interventions for hereditary haemochromatosis: an attempted network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Safety and Efficacy of Therapeutic Erythrocytapheresis Treatment in Chronic Mountain Sickness Patients in Shigatse, Tibet, China.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2020Trial
- Erythrocytapheresis as a strategy to manage anemia and iron overload in nondeletional hemoglobin H disease.EJHaem · 2025Article
- Performance and safety of therapeutic erythrocytapheresis in polycythemia and hemochromatosis treatment: single centre experience.Hematology, transfusion and cell therapy · 2024Article
- Hemochromatosis-How Not to Overlook and Properly Manage "Iron People"-A Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- A Review of New Concepts in Iron Overload.Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2024Article
- Blood donation for iron removal in individuals with HFE mutations: study of efficacy and safety and short review on hemochromatosis and blood donation.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- European Association for Study of the Liver (EASL) clinical practice guidelines on haemochromatosis.Frontline gastroenterology · 2023Article
- Patients with hereditary hemochromatosis reach safe range of transferrin saturation sooner with erythrocytaphereses than with phlebotomies.Journal of clinical apheresis · 2022Article
- A predictive model for estimating the number of erythrocytapheresis or phlebotomy treatments for patients with naïve hereditary hemochromatosis.Journal of clinical apheresis · 2021Article
- Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHereditary haemochromatosis may result in severe organ damage which can be prevented by therapy. We studied the possible advantages and disadvantages of erythrocytapheresis as compared with phlebotomy in patients with hereditary haemochromatosis. MATERIALS AND
methodsIn a prospective, randomised, open-label study, patients with hereditary haemochromatosis were randomised to bi-weekly apheresis or weekly whole blood phlebotomy. Primary end-points were decrease in ferritin levels and transferrin saturation. Secondary endpoints were decrease in haemoglobin levels, discomfort during the therapeutic procedure, costs and technicians' working time.
resultsSixty-two patients were included. Thirty patients were randomised to apheresis and 32 to whole blood phlebotomy. Initially, ferritin levels declined more rapidly in the apheresis group, and the difference became statistically highly significant at 11 weeks; however, time to normalisation of ferritin level was equal in the two groups. We observed no significant differences in decline of transferrin saturation, haemoglobin levels or discomfort. The mean cumulative technician time consumption until the ferritin level reached 50 μg/L was longer in the apheresis group, but the difference was not statistically significant. The cumulative costs for materials until achievement of the desired ferritin levels were three-fold higher in the apheresis group.
conclusionTreatment of hereditary haemochromatosis with erythrocytapheresis instead of whole blood phlebotomy results in a more rapid initial decline in ferritin levels and a reduced number of procedures per patient, but not in earlier achievement of target ferritin level. The frequency of discomfort was equally low with the two methods. The costs and, probably, technician time consumption were higher in the apheresis group.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.