Global public awareness of venous thromboembolism

Wendelboe, Aaron M.; McCumber, Micah; Hylek, Elaine M.; Büller, Harry R.; Weitz, Jeffrey I.; Raskob, Gary E.

doi:10.1111/jth.13031

Cited by 124 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The lower awareness of PE compared with that of DVT may explained by the pathophysiologic nature of PE; it is a life-threatening condition considered a complication of DVT, and it is often termed the “silent killer” because of the nonspecificity of its symptoms [19]. This has also been documented in other reports [12, 13]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Awareness of venous thromboembolism and thromboprophylaxis among hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2017

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BackgroundPatient awareness of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and thromboprophylaxis is essential for their safety. In this study, we evaluated patients’ awareness of VTE and their perceptions of thromboprophylaxis.MethodsWe administered a cross-sectional survey to patients hospitalized at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ResultsOf 190 patients approached, 174 completed the survey, constituting a response rate of 95%. Most participants (72%) were receiving thromboprophylaxis. However, only 32 and 15% reported knowledge of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), respectively. Fifty-five percent of participants with knowledge of DVT identified swelling of the leg as a symptom. Risk factors for blood clot development were correctly identified by about half of participants, although most agreed that blood clots can cause death (77%). The level of awareness of DVT or PE did not significantly differ by respondents’ demographics. However, awareness of DVT or PE was significantly higher among those with a personal or family history of VTE. Participants had positive perceptions of thromboprophylaxis and were satisfied with treatment (> 69%), but perceived its adverse effects less favorably and reported lower satisfaction with the information provided about DVT and PE (46%).ConclusionThis study demonstrates the lack of awareness of VTE, DVT, and PE among hospitalized patients. More attention must be paid to patient education to ensure safe and high-quality patient care.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The survey was developed by combining two previously validated surveys [12, 13], and the questions were selected based on the study objectives. The survey was translated into Arabic and validated in a pilot study involving 43 Arabic-speaking participants.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Awareness of venous thromboembolism and thromboprophylaxis among hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2017

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“…Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) together comprise the most common preventable cause of hospital-related death, known together as venous thromboembolism (VTE) (1). Approximately, 35% of patients with symptomatic VTE present pulmonary embolism (PE), while 65% of patients manifest only deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Internal Medicine Residents Towards Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis in a University Hospital in Tehran

et al. 2016

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Background: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a major problem in hospitalized patients. There is discrepancy between healthcare providers' knowledge and their clinical practice regarding DVT prophylaxis. In this study we aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practices of internal medicine residents at an educational hospital in Tehran. Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted during December 2015 at Shariati hospital of Tehran, IRAN. A questionnaire covering five domains of clinical scenarios, adherence to guidelines, personal beliefs, practice, preferences and personal beliefs, was distributed between internal medicine residents. Medical records of patients at the internal ward were reviewed to assess the status of DVT prophylaxis in patients, who needed DVT prophylaxis based on American college of chest physicians' (ACCP) guidelines.Results: Overall, 71 residents out of 88 residents returned the questionnaire, and 43.7% were aware of the guidelines. Furthermore, 97.2% thought DVT prophylaxis is clinically important but only 66.90% of the patients, who needed DVT prophylaxis, were receiving DVT prophylaxis. More than 50% of the residents underestimated the incidence of DVT and mortality rate due to pulmonary embolism. The most common reason for not prescribing DVT prophylaxis was concern about bleeding in 53.5% of the participants. Further analysis of different components of the questionnaire showed that there is a significant association between "awareness" and "adherence" scores (P = 0.041) and correct answers to "clinical scenarios" and "practice" (P = 0.012). Conclusions:Although the level of knowledge on these clinical situations is good, underestimation of the risk of DVT development in hospitalized patients needs more attention. This might be due to low levels of awareness of presence and content of DVT prophylaxis guidelines. Programs should be designed to uphold the levels of information of DVT prophylaxis guidelines among internal medicine residents.

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“…We thank Drs Aggarwal and Rickles [1] for their comments and commend them on their efforts to assess the awareness of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE). Their findings are remarkably consistent with the results of our global awareness survey [2].…”

Section: Disclosure Of Conflict Of Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global public awareness of venous thromboembolism: comment

Aggarwal

Rickles

2016

Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis

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We read with interest the article by Wendelboe et al. [1], in which the authors reported a low public awareness of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In their large survey of > 7000 respondents from the general population of nine countries, 68%, 44% and 54% of the respondents were aware of the terms 'thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE)', respectively. The level of awareness was lower than that for other serious diseases such as heart attack and stroke (88% and 85%, respectively). In particular, we were not surprised by their findings that only 45% (95% confidence interval [CI], 43.9-46.5) of respondents were aware that blood clots were preventable, and even fewer of these non-selected respondents reported awareness that cancer, hospitalization and surgery are risk factors for VTE (16%, 25% and 36%, respectively).The findings of Wendelboe et al.[1] are consistent with the results of our recently published survey of cancer patients, in which we demonstrated a similar low rate of awareness of VTE terminology amongst this high-risk patient population [2]. In brief, we conducted an online survey to measure awareness of PE and DVT terminology and understanding of the risks of VTE among a panel of 500 patients (294 treated as outpatients only and 206 who had been admitted to hospital during their treatment). The diagnosis of cancer had been established in all of the respondents within the preceding 12 months. Of these 500 patients, 24% and 15% had heard of the terms DVT or PE (Table 1); 19% and 17% could name signs and symptoms of DVT and PE; 33% reported cancer as a risk factor for 'blood clots'; 3% stated that cancer treatments were risk factors for DVT and PE. Only 25% of the patients received education regarding prevention from providers; < 50% received VTE prophylaxis. Cancer outpatients were significantly less aware of the terms DVT and PE than their inpatient counterparts (Table 1). Nearly equal numbers of inpatients (76%) and outpatients (79%) were aware of the term 'blood clot'. When asked if they could identify or name risk factors for DVT, 155 of 500 (31%) responded positively. Of these, 45% identified sitting for too long, 9% identified travel, 8% identified being overweight, 7% identified being bedridden, 8% identified surgery and only 4% identified chemotherapy, radiation or some form of cancer treatment as risk factors. Significantly more inpatient respondents were aware of risk factors for DVT (P < 0.05) (

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Global public awareness of venous thromboembolism

Cited by 124 publications

References 11 publications

Awareness of venous thromboembolism and thromboprophylaxis among hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional study

Awareness of venous thromboembolism and thromboprophylaxis among hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional study

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Internal Medicine Residents Towards Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis in a University Hospital in Tehran

Global public awareness of venous thromboembolism: comment

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