The Effect of Economic Sanctions on Treatment of Thalassemia Major Referring to Selected Medical Centers in Fars Province

Abstract

Background: In the list of sanctions, as a destructive political tool against some countries, drug trade is not officially prohibited, but according to existing reports, patients in sanctioned countries are having difficulty obtaining the drugs they need in practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of US and EU economic sanctions against Iran on the treatment of thalassemia major patients in Iran. Methods: To achieve the objectives of the study, 249 major thalassemia patients referred to five treatment centers in Fars province (August, 2019), who were treated with Deferasirox oral medications (Osveral or Exjade) and injectable forms (desferal), were studied and the type of medication used, their access to these drugs, and serum ferritin levels before and one year after the last economic sanction, were recorded in a Demographic information form. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using Kappa coefficient. Results: The results of the study showed that after the latest Iranian sanction, the types of medications used changed from foreign and injectable (Desferal and Exjade) to Iranian medication (Osvral), but serum ferritin levels did not change significantly. Conclusions: During the economic sanctions, the use of Iranian oral iron repellent drugs could reduce the health system’s budget for the annual cost of treating thalassemia major patients. © 2020, Advanced Scientific Research. All rights reserved.