Prevalence and clinical features of cryoglobulinaemia in multitransfused â-thalassaemia patients

Objective—The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of cryoglobulinaemia and its clinical features among â-thalassaemia patients. Methods—Eighty eight multitransfused â-thalassaemia patients were studied. They were physically examined and asked about the presence of cryoglobulinaemia related symptoms. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology, HCV-RNA, HCV subtypes, viraemia, serum ferritin, liver and kidney function tests, rheumatoid factor (RF), circulating immune complexes (CIC), complement levels and autoantibodies were all evaluated. The patients were divided into four groups: HCV-RNA positive patients with and without cryoglobulinaemia (groups A and B), HCV-Ab positive/HCV-RNA negative patients (group C), HCV-Ab negative patients