Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: The most common cause of death in thalassemic patients is cardiac involvement especially cardiomyopathy. If the early stages of heart disease in people with thalassemia are diagnosed, mortality of patients reduced significantly. In this case-control study we compare the clinical symptoms, signs and para-clinic finding in thalassemia patients with control group.
Methods: In this case-control study, thalassemia patients who had visited in special clinic of Vali-e-Asr hospital of Birjand University Medical Sciences during January of 2013 to May of 2014 compared with normal subjects. They matched by age and sex. After explaining the aims of the project, the written consent was received from both groups. Clinical examinations including history taking and auscultation of heart and lungs were performed by Pediatrician. Moreover, using the standard methods, the measurement of height, weight and blood pressure were performed. In following, electrocardiography (ECG) was taken in both groups. Also, both groups underwent transthoracic echocardiography by one cardiologist.
Results: 42 thalassemia patients and 42 healthy subjects was compared in this study. Dyspnea was the only different symptom in the two groups. (23.8% in case and 4.8% in control P=0.01) In physical examination respiratory rate (RR) is only higher in patients with thalassemia that controls, but heart rate (HR), abnormal heart and lung sounds were not different significantly between two groups. In ECG, PR interval and QTc interval in patients with thalassemia was longer than healthy subject. In echocardiography, ejection fraction was lower but left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) and size of the right ventricle and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was significantly higher than those in the control group.
Conclusion: According the result of this study, dyspnea was higher in patients with thalassemia from normal subjects and PR interval and QT interval was longer in thalassemic patients. As well as the size of the left ventricle, size of right ventricle, pulmonary artery pressure were higher than normal population. Also, LV ejection fraction was lower in thalassemia than normal population.

Background: Obesity and overweight are one of the components of metabolic syndrome and the cause of cardiovascular disease and sudden cardiac death. Obesity is associated with a wide range of electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities.
Methods: This case-control study was performed on 50 children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years in Birjand from May to October 2020. In the control group, 25 people with normal weight and in the case group, 25 people with obesity or overweight were included in the study. Individuals with a body mass index of 85-95 percent were defined as overweight, ones with a body mass index above the 95th percentile were defined as obese, and individuals with a body mass index below the 85th percentile were defined as normal. After clinical examination, height, weight and electrocardiogram indices were measured and compared by using statistical tests by SPSS (Version 19) software.

Results: There were 15 boys in the control group and 17 boys in the case group. The mean age of the control and case groups was 11.28±2.13 and 10.96±1.97 years, respectively. The mean distance between the peak to the end of the T wave in the case group was 323.72±120.15 and in the control group was 79.20±13.06. The mean difference between the shortest and longest distance of TP-e in case group was 48±23.04 and in control group was 18.44±5.58, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two indices (P<0.001). But in other variables, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups.