title: Awareness regarding venous thromboembolism among internal medicine practitioners in Mexico: a national cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Venous thromboembolism (VTE) affects millions of patients worldwide and is responsible for thousands of hospitalisations annually.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Unit in Thrombosis, Hemostasis, and Atherogenesis, Mexican Institute of Social Security. amajlufc@gmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Majluf-Cruz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castro Martinez
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Herrera Cornejo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liceaga-Cravioto
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Espinosa-Larrañaga
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Chavez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D036542:Tomography, Spiral Computed; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult