title: Effect of a public awareness campaign on the incidence of symptomatic objectively confirmed deep vein thrombosis: a controlled study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although there have been attempts to raise public awareness about deep vein thrombosis (DVT), their influence on identifying confirmed cases is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect and its duration of a public awareness campaign about venous thromboembolism.
  
  
  METHODS
  A campaign to raise public awareness of DVT was conducted during one year in an urban population of approximately 100,000 (pop A). A comparison urban population of approximately 1,574,000 (pop B) was not exposed to this campaign. Patients symptomatic for DVT in both populations were referred by general practitioners for a standardized compression ultrasound (CUS) of the whole leg at no charge. Positive CUS examinations documented by photographs were analyzed by an independent adjudication committee blinded to the population. Pop A was followed for 8 months after the information campaign ended.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Symptomatic objectively confirmed DVT was found in 48 of 800 subjects tested in pop A and 226 of 2384 tested in pop B. The 1-year incidence of confirmed DVT (proximal and distal) was 46/100,000 (95% CI, 33-59) in A and 14/100,000 (95% CI, 12-16) in B (P < 0.001). The increase in pop A was due to distal DVT (36/100,000 vs. 5/100,000 in pop B, P < 0.001). The DVT rate for pop A in an 8-month follow-up period was 12/100,000, significantly lower than in the first 8 months of the study period (34/100,000/8 months) (P = 0.001). The public awareness campaign significantly increased the diagnosis of distal DVT. When the campaign ended, DVT rates returned to community baseline.
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Research Institute, Warsaw Central Clinical Hospital of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, Warsaw Department of Surgery, Ludwik Rydygier University Medical School, Bydgoszcz Department of General and Vascular Surgery, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice Department of Clinical Research, SanofiAventis employee, Warsaw Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: W Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Tomkowski
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dybowska
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuca
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andziak
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jawień
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ziaja
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Małek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Górska
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D058015:Health Communication / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011044:Poland; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult