Fatal blood clots due to venous thrombosis claim over 500,000 lives in the EU each year, VITAE Study shows

Main Category: Vascular
Article Date: 19 Sep 2005 - 15:00 PST

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The results of the VITAE study, announced at the 5th annual congress of the European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM) on September 3rd, reported that the annual burden of fatal and non-fatal symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), exceeds 1.5 million events annually in the European Union. This figure includes 543,500 deaths, 435,000 cases of PE and 684,000 cases of documented symptomatic DVT.

(VITAE = VTE Impact Assessment Group in Europe)

"The VITAE study showed that VTE kills more Europeans each year than breast cancer, prostate cancer, HIV/AIDS and road traffic accidents combined," said Dr Alexander Cohen from King's College Hospital and Guy's, King's and St Thomas School of Medicine, London, UK.

VITAE study is the first major attempt to establish the real burden of VTE across the whole EU. There has been a lack of accurate estimates of the frequency of VTE, because in many cases it is clinically silent and difficult to diagnose. Most fatal PEs remain unrecognized as post mortems are rarely performed. This leads to an underestimation of the importance of VTE as a major cause of death. By combining the best available evidence from clinical, epidemiological and autopsy studies in a model, the VITAE investigators, a panel of European and North American thrombosis experts, estimated the total annual burden of VTE across 25 EU countries.

"The real problem with VTE is that it is often a silent disease, and its first manifestation can be fatal, underlining the need for preventative measures," said Dr Cohen. "If at risk patients receive effective prophylaxis, the vast majority of these cases could be avoided. Therefore, we need to implement systematic assessment and prophylaxis, if required, in all patients".

Background on Venous thromboembolism (VTE)

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) refers to two serious conditions: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE).

DVT is a condition resulting from the formation of a blood clot inside a deep vein, commonly located in the calf and or thigh. DVT occurs when the blood clot either partially or completely blocks the flow of blood in the deep vein.

PE is a potentially life-threatening complication and occurs when a fragment of a blood clot breaks loose and travels to the lungs.

Certain individuals may be at increased risk for developing VTE, however VTE can occur in almost anyone. Some of the common at-risk situations include major surgery, such as hip or knee replacements, as well as acute medical situations (stroke, heart failure, respiratory failure, or infections), especially if the patient's mobility is reduced or the patient has other personal risk factors such as advanced age, obesity, varicose veins, history of VTE, or cancer).

Preventive treatments for DVT include early mobilization, sequential compression devices and stockings to prevent blood clotting, and anticoagulants and/or blood-thinning drugs.

About VITAE Thrombosis Study

This study used epidemiological modeling, an approach that has become increasingly accepted when derivation of the frequency of a disease by performing clinical or epidemiological studies is impractical. VITAE study is the first major attempt to establish the real burden of VTE across the whole EU, in terms of the morbidity, mortality and the costs associated with this medical condition. The VITAE study was supported by Sanofi-Aventis .

VITAE expert board consisted of 13 leading experts from six European countries (i.e. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK) and the US. The expert board reviewed the core model structure, methodologies, and all country specific data inputs as well as key assumptions in the model. Comprehensive and systematic literature reviews were conducted to provide the best available data to populate the model, and national patient databases such as Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) in the UK and "le programme de m�dicalisation des syst�mes d'information" (PMSI) database in France were used to estimate the at-risk patient numbers.

Alexander T Cohen* on behalf of the VTE Impact Assessment Group in Europe (VITAE)

* Guy's, King and St Thomas School of Medicine and King's College Hospital, London, UK

EFIM
European Federation of Internal Medicine
efim.org

President: Prof D Sereni (France)
President-Elect: Prof S Lindgren (Sweden)
Vice President: Dr C Davidson (United Kingdom)
Secretary General: Dr J W F Elte (Netherlands)
Treasurer: Dr W Bauer (Switzerland)
Hon President: Prof A Malliani (Italy)
Past President: Prof J Merino (Spain)

Prof Daniel Sereni, EFIM President
Service de Medecine Interne, H�pital Saint-Louis
1 Avenue Claude Vellefaux
75475 Paris Cedex 10 FRANCE
Tel: +33 1 42 49 97 80 Fax: +33 1 42 49 97 69
Email: daniel.sereni@sls.ap-hop-paris.fr

efim.org

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