Abstract
Patients of thalassemia require iron chelation therapy for the treatment of iron overload in the form of desferrioxamine (DFO), combination of DFO and deferiprone and oral deferiprone only. One of the side effects of DFO is ocular toxicity. Present study was conducted to elicit the subclinical effects of DFO on visual pathways by doing Visual Evoked Potential (VEP). Forty five patients of thalassemia major were divided into three groups (I, II &III) based on their iron chelation therapy as desferrioxamine, combination of desferrioxamine& deferiprone and only deferiprone respectively. VEP was recorded in each group and comparison was done. In VEP P100 was significantly prolonged in the group of thalassemia patients receiving DFO and combination of DFO and deferiprone suggesting vulnerability to ocular toxicity of DFO. We can suggest that in patients receiving chronic DFO therapy, VEPs may be considered to monitor the toxic effects of DFO on visual system. Keywords: Thalassemia, iron chelation, visual evoked potential.
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