Awareness regarding venous thromboembolism among internal medicine practitioners in Mexico: a national cross-sectional study.
Intern Med J
; 42(12): 1335-41, 2012 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22151051
BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) affects millions of patients worldwide and is responsible for thousands of hospitalisations annually. AIMS: To evaluate the awareness regarding VTE among Mexican internists. METHODS: We designed a cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire applied to Mexican internists mainly during academic meetings. RESULTS: We collected 1220 questionnaires. VTE was considered a potential complication for medical inpatients by 85% of the respondents, whereas 69% and 63%, respectively, considered pulmonary embolism to be a complication of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and a cause of death. Awareness of some VTE risk factors was adequate, and 85% of those physicians surveyed routinely observed patients for these risk factors, although only 58% performed global risk stratification. Only 12% of the respondents considered length of hospital stay as a risk factor, and 58% assumed that the risk decreases after hospital discharge; 64% and 49% responded that the risk is higher, and VTE risk factors are more frequent in surgical versus medical inpatients respectively. VTE diagnosis was reported as easy or very easy for 59% of the respondents, but only 41% regarded phlebography as the gold standard for diagnosing DVT, although 85% of the respondents reported that d-dimer + Doppler ultrasound was an alternative. Pulmonary arteriography or helical computed tomography CT scan was the gold standard for diagnosing pulmonary embolism for 60% of the physicians, but 55% responded that electrocardiogram, arterial gasometry and chest X-ray are also useful. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness regarding VTE risk factors and the degree of diagnostic skills among Mexican internal medicine specialists are low.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Competência Clínica
/
Tromboembolia Venosa
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Hospitalização
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Medicina Interna
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Female
/
Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Mexico
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Intern Med J
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA INTERNA
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de publicação:
Austrália