Deferiprone
Indications
Deferiprone is used for:
Thalassaemia,Iron overload
Adult Dose
Transfusional Iron Overload
Iron chelator indicated for treatment of transfusional iron overload caused by thalassemia syndromes when current chelation therapy is inadequate
25-33 mg/kg PO TID (ie, total daily dosage range 75-99 mg/kg/day)
Round dose to nearest 250 mg
Child Dose
Renal Dose
Administration
May be taken with or without food.
Contra Indications
Agranulocytosis, pregnancy and lactation.
Precautions
Hepatic and renal impairment. Neutropenia, monitor neutrophil count wkly and discontinue treatment if neutropenia develops. Limited experience in children 6-10 yr.
Lactation: Unknown whether distributed in breast milk; because of the potential for adverse reactions in nursing infants, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother
Pregnancy-Lactation
Interactions
Avoid using deferiprone with aluminium-containing antacids as it can chelates trivalent metal ions.
Adverse Effects
Side effects of Deferiprone :
>10%
Chromaturia (14.6%),Nausea (12.6%),Abdominal pain/discomfort (10.4%)
1-10%
Arthralgia (9.8%),Vomiting (9.8%),Increased ALT (7.5%),Decreased neutrophil count (7.3%),Neutropenia (6.2%),Increased appetite (4%),Diarrhea (3%),Headache (2.5%),Dyspepsia (2%),Back pain (2%),Extremity pain (1.9%),Increased weight (1.9%),Agranulocytosis (1.7%),Arthropathy (1.4%),Increased AST (1.2%),Decreased appetite (1.1%)
Mechanism of Action
Deferiprone is an orally effective iron-chelating agent. It is being used when desferrioxamine is unsuitable or contraindicated.