ArticleBMC pediatrics2020
A cost-of-illness analysis of β-Thalassaemia major in children in Sri Lanka - experience from a tertiary level teaching hospital.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Calcium channel blockers for preventing cardiomyopathy due to iron overload in people with transfusion-dependent beta thalassaemia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of oral hydroxyurea for transfusion-dependent β-thalassaemia.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- The epidemiology of thalassaemia syndromes in Southeast Asia.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2026Review
- A dual-modal machine learning framework integrating red blood indices and smartphone-captured microscopic images for β-thalassemia screening.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Article
- Voluntary thalassemia screening: behaviours and constructs among youths from a thalassemia hot spot in Sri Lanka.BMC research notes · 2026Article
- Thalassemia in Guangxi: current situation and future prospects.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The direct costs of transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia in Saudi Arabia: A cost of illness analysis study.Medicine · 2025Article
- Mortality, Clinical Complications, and Healthcare Resource Utilization Associated with Managing Transfusion-Dependent β-Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease with Recurrent Vaso-occlusive Crises in Italy.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2025Article
- Global Globin Network and adopting genomic variant database requirements for thalassemia.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2024Article
- A cross-sectional study: caregiver burden and related determinants of adult patients with β-thalassemia major in mainland China.BMC nursing · 2024Article
- Systematic literature review of the indirect costs and humanistic burden of β-thalassemia.Therapeutic advances in hematology · 2024Review
- A scoping review on the obstacles faced by beta thalassemia major patients in Pakistan- Matter of policy investment.AIMS public health · 2024Review
- Economic burden of adult patients with β-thalassaemia major in mainland China.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2023Article
- Review
- Healthcare resource utilization and direct costs of transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: a retrospective cost-of-illness study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Predictors of health state utility values using SF-6D for Chinese adult patients with β-thalassemia major.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Economic burden in the management of transfusion-dependent thalassaemia patients in Malaysia from a societal perspective.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSri Lanka has a high prevalence of β-thalassaemia major. Clinical management is complex and long-term and includes regular blood transfusion and iron chelation therapy. The economic burden of β-thalassaemia for the Sri Lankan healthcare system and households is currently unknown.
methodsA prevalence-based, cost-of-illness study was conducted on the Thalassaemia Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Kandy Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. Data were collected from clinical records, consultations with the head of the blood bank and a consultant paediatrician directly involved with the care of patients, alongside structured interviews with families to gather data on the personal costs incurred such as those for travel.
resultsThirty-four children aged 2-17 years with transfusion dependent thalassaemia major and their parent/guardian were included in the study. The total average cost per patient year to the hospital was $US 2601 of which $US 2092 were direct costs and $US 509 were overhead costs. Mean household expenditure was $US 206 per year with food and transport per transfusion ($US 7.57 and $US 4.26 respectively) being the highest cost items. Nine (26.5%) families experienced catastrophic levels of healthcare expenditure (> 10% of income) in the care of their affected child. The poorest households were the most likely to experience such levels of expenditure.
conclusionsβ-thalassaemia major poses a significant economic burden on health services and the families of affected children in Sri Lanka. Greater support is needed for the high proportion of families that suffer catastrophic out-of-pocket costs.
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