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Introduction: The life expectancy of β-thalassemia patients has increased over the last 20 years. In this study, we evaluated the current health status and quality of life of these patients managed in a reference center in Marseille., Methods: This is a single-center, descriptive study conducted between June and August 2019 in patients over 18 years of age with β-thalassemia major or intermedia. Clinical and paraclinical data were collected retrospectively and the SF-36 health survey questionnaire was proposed to each patient., Results: 43 of 64 selected patients were included and divided into 2 groups: 35 patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia and 8 patients with non-transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia. Liver iron overload is the most frequent complication, present in 80% of transfusion-dependent and 62.5% of non-transfusion-dependent patients. Cardiac iron overload is present only in the transfusion dependent β-thalassemia group (20%). Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism remains the most common endocrine disorder (41.9%) followed by osteoporosis (37.2%). Among the 31 patients who completed the SF-36 questionnaire, physical and mental quality of life scores were lowered in transfusion dependent (respectively 42.7 and 46.8) as in non-transfusion-dependent patients (respectively 43.8 and 28.9)., Conclusion: Despite an improvement in medical care, our patients with β-thalassemia show an alteration in their quality of life that will need to be characterized in the entire French cohort., (Copyright © 2024 Société Nationale Française de Médecine Interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Anemia is the most common hematological pathology in geriatrics. Its prevalence increases with age. It is considered as a fragility factor because leading to loss of autonomy and other complications. Transfusion is a common practice in geriatrics. In 2014, the French national health authority guidelines recommended hemoglobin concentration rates for transfusion on the elderly over 80 years-old. The objective of this study is to compare transfusion practices in geriatric short-stay units, before and after these guidelines were edited., Methods: Retrospective descriptive study in two geriatric short stay units, including patients aged 80 years-old or over, transfused in 2012 and 2015., Results: 103 patients were included. More than 30% patients had a chronic heart failure, and there was no significant difference on general characteristics between the groups in the two years. Compared to 2012, the transfused population in 2015 was more fragile with a higher Charlson comorbidity index (p=0.005). The main symptoms of anemia bad tolerance were cardiovascular symptoms. The average pre-transfusion hemoglobin concentration was 7.9 g/dL in 2015, 8 g/dL in 2012 (p=0.63). By 2015, 72.3% transfusions respected the hemoglobin thresholds recommended in guidelines, compared to 50% in 2012 (p=0.023). Transfusion thresholds in our study were lower than those recommended; 13 adverse reactions were identified, 12 of them were heart failure. There was no significant difference in transfusion benefit between the two years., Conclusion: This study helped describe profile of elderly transfused patients, their geriatric characteristics and the transfusion data, without showing any changes in transfusion practices following the guidelines, despite a more fragile population in 2015. It seems difficult, because of the diversity in the geriatric population, to have a single threshold of hemoglobin recommended, only non-specific symptoms of intolerance and to consider only the cardiovascular comorbidities to decide whether or not to provide a transfusion.