ScientiaCME From alpha to optimal: contemporary strategies for managing alpha thalassemia and its complications

Details

In this online, self-learning activity:

Thalassemias belong to a group of recessively inherited blood disorders characterized by little or no hemoglobin production and chronic anemia of varying severity. Alpha thalassemia (AT) is most commonly found in people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African descent. Worldwide, 5% of people are AT carriers, with a much higher prevalence in certain regions (e.g., up to 23% in Southeast Asia). AT is typically caused by deletions of one or more α-globin genes, leading to reduced or abolished α-globin production; non-deletional forms of AT can also occur and are generally more severe. The loss of functional α-globin disrupts the globin chain equilibrium, leading to excess γ- and β-globin chain formation and causing ineffective erythropoiesis. Patients with both deletional and non-deletional types of AT can develop various clinical complications, such as iron overload, gallstones, impaired liver function, osteoporosis, and elevated uric acid levels. Cardiopulmonary and skeletal deformities are common in patients from countries in the Western hemisphere who have elevated ferritin, while infections are the leading complication and cause of death in patients who live in countries in the Eastern hemisphere and have transfusion-dependent thalassemia.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:

• Review the burden of Alpha thalassemia (AT), including the burden of both frequent and intermittent transfusions as well as the economic and clinical constraints on patients and families
• Evaluate screening recommendations and procedures useful in the differential diagnosis of AT in children and adults
• Review standard-of-care treatment options for AT, and describe the unmet needs in this patient population, including the morbidity and mortality associated with untreated anemia
• Describe the latest safety and efficacy data supporting the use of novel therapeutic treatment strategies, and select treatment options on the basis of disease subtype and severity and patient characteristics

Target Audience

HCPs including but not limited to: hematologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses who practice in hematology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who may clinically encounter patients with Alpha thalassemia.

Additional credit info

ScientiaCME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation: ScientiaCME designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.0 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

ABIM MOC Credit Type: Medical Knowledge

Physicians: For maintenance of certification (MOC) points, you must enter your board certification ID # and birth date correctly.  It is the learner’s responsibility to provide this information completely and accurately at the completion of the activity. Without providing it, the learner will NOT receive MOC points for this activity. By providing this data, you acknowledge that it will be shared with ACCME and the applicable certifying board. Please note: Not all activities on this site provide MOC points. If this activity does not specify that it provides MOC points in this section, then it does NOT provide MOC points. This activity provides MOC points only for ABIM.

Nurses: This activity is designated for up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ to meet the continuing education renewal requirements of nursing re-certification for APRNs and RN specialty. Some state nursing boards accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for re-licensure requirements, some do not. Check your state board of nursing’s CE requirements before applying credit from this course to your re-licensure.

Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ assigned by organizations accredited by the ACCME as satisfying Category 1 CME for National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) national certification maintenance. This activity is designated for up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.

Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) states that continuing education providers accredited by the ACCME may provide acceptable, accredited Advanced Practice Provider content. This activity is designated for up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.