title: Guidelines for venous thromboembolism and clinical practice in Italy: a nationwide survey.
abstract: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common health problem for today's society, and considering the role that it plays in surgical patients (general surgery, gynecology, and orthopedics), new advances in our understanding of the procedures and trauma characteristics are relevant and necessary. The most important and recently published guidelines concerning this problem have been taken into consideration, leading to articulate investigations and data evaluation. This project has proposed a data-survey framework available as a questionnaire in order to investigate application of the guidelines for VTE throughout the national territory. Of the total 714 Italian centers, a random sample of 214 were contacted and asked to take part in this study; of these, 146 replied (20.4% of total and 68.2% of the sample): 48 departments of general surgery, 46 departments of gynecology, and 52 departments of orthopedics. About 70% of the centers has appropriate information about surgery as a risk factor for VTE. The answers have provided evidence of an adequate knowledge of the instrumental and laboratory diagnostic pathways, useful to confirm the diagnosis of TE (80%). Data waiting compared with morbidity and mortality rates related to deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism showed an increase of mortality associated with the diagnostic data timing of supply, with an exponential trend linked to the data acquisition delay. Both risk stratification and adequate application of prophylaxis together with treatment devices represent a real tool to control morbidity and mortality for VTE. Moreover, diagnostic data waiting significantly influences adequate prophylaxis. In Italy, only 40% of the centers are ready to provide diagnostic data within 12 hr.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy. defranci@unicz.it
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Franciscis
authors.forename: Giovanni Battista
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Agus
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bisacci
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Botta
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gasbarro
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domanin
authors.forename: Carmelo Giuseppe Angelo
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Nobile
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Serra
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants