Introduction: Heart failure, fatal arrhythmias, and cardiac dilatation because of anemia are common causes of β-thalassemia major-related deaths. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of L-carnitine on echocardiographic changes in β-thalassemia major and intermedia patients in Besat Hospital in Sanandaj, Iran.
Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, 60 β-thalassemia patients who were eligible for L-carnitine administration were randomly divided into 2 placebo and study drug groups. The duration of the study was 6 months. Using echocardiography and blood tests, cardiac parameters including left ventricular dilatation, left ventricular hypertrophy, and a number of cardiac blood indices were examined before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS V.23 software, χ, and covariance statistical tests.
Results: There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of age and sex. Patients treated with L-carnitine have a reduced rate of left ventricular dilatation, left ventricular hypertrophy, and systolic blood pressure compared with controls (P<0.05). Cardiac output increased from 43.5 to 56.5 (P=0.002).
Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the drug has a positive effect on the improvement of cardiac indices in β-thalassemia patients. Therefore, we suggest that further studies with more samples and other diagnostic modalities of the drug's effect be investigated.