[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]New guidelines released by the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) address the Management of Non-Transfusion Dependent Thalassaemias (NTDT) and are a first of their kind in the field of medical haematology. The guidelines, presented today at the 18th Congress of the European Haematology Association (EHA), provide a consensus of international expert opinion based on the latest data in the field, and were developed to give clinicians easy-to-follow protocols to better identify and manage this patient population, who are often overlooked or under-diagnosed.

NTDT is a term used to label patients who do not require lifelong regular, blood transfusions for survival, although they may require occasional or even frequent transfusions in certain clinical settings and for defined periods of time. Non-transfusion-dependent thalassaemias include: thalassaemia intermedia, HbE/thalassaemia and α-thalassaemia (HbH), and predominantly affect people of South and Southeast Asian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origin.

“NTDT affects an equal or even larger population than β-thalassaemia major on a global scale because NTDT is more prevalent in some of the most populous regions of the world, like South East Asia and the Western Pacific Region,” said Dr. Androulla Eleftheriou, executive director of TIF. “Due to migration and global population movements, NTDT exists in almost every region and country of the world including Europe.”

“Over the last decade we have made great strides to better understand the management of the disease, most notably the role of transfusion therapy and iron chelation therapy,” continued Dr. Eleftheriou. “The TIF NTDT guidelines offer the most current medical evidence to help clinicians make more informed therapeutic decisions to better influence patient outcomes and avoid disease complications.”