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Study finds delays in DVT diagnosis

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, November 22, 2006

A study published in the November 2005 issue of Chest, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, found that patients often experience delays in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).

Although most patients with DVT and PE seek medical attention and receive diagnoses soon after they experience initial symptoms, the researchers-from the University of Utah, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School-cited a need to develop and test strategies to reduce delays in diagnosis.

The researchers studied 808 patients with acute DVT, finding that:

  • 170 patients (21%) received diagnoses more than one week after symptom onset
  • 40 patients (5%) received diagnoses more than three weeks after symptom onset
  • On average, 80% of the delay in diagnosis of DVT occurred between symptom onset and medical evaluation

Acute PE was diagnosed in 59 of 344 patients more than one week after symptom onset, and in 17 of 344 patients more than three weeks after the onset of symptoms.

To view the study's abstract, click here.

 

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