DVT

We are pleased to announce that the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP), the American Association of Managed Care Nurses (AAMCN), and the American Board of Managed Care Nurses (ABMCN) have recently joined the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) to raise awareness of this serious medical condition among consumers, healthcare professionals, government and public health leaders. The Coalition objectives include: the need to prevent DVT; the actions to help achieve better diagnosis; the steps required to reduce DVT prevalence and incidence, and the ways to inspire government, healthcare leaders, and policy-makers to make DVT a national healthcare priority. According to a national survey conducted by the American Public Health Association (APHA), 74 percent of adults surveyed had little or no awareness of DVT. Therefore it is critically important to leverage DVT as a national healthcare priority.

DVT Awareness Month

DVT Awareness Month is a multi-faceted program aimed at raising awareness of this commonly occurring medical condition. According to the American Heart Association, up to 2 million Americans are affected annually by DVT. Of those who develop pulmonary embolism (PE), a complication of DVT, 60,000-200,000 will die, which is more than from breast cancer, AIDS and highway fatalities. With proper medical care, the condition can be prevented and treated.

On behalf of the Coalition, we would like to announce the launch of DVT Awareness Month in March 2004 to drive this effort. DVT Awareness Month is a multi-faceted program aimed at raising awareness of this commonly occurring medical condition. According to the American Heart Association, up to 2 million Americans are affected annually by DVT. Of those who develop pulmonary embolism (PE), a complication of DVT, 60,000-200,000 will die, which is more than from breast cancer, AIDS and highway fatalities. With proper medical care, the condition can be prevented and treated.

You can make a difference in preventing DVT by doing the following:

Assess your patient for his/her risk of developing DVT/PE upon admission into a hospital, long-term care facility or nursing home, and periodically from then on.
Assess primary risk factors in your patients such as; advanced age, obesity, acute medical illness, patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery (such as joint replacements) who remain immobile in bed after an operation, pregnancy, restricted mobility caused by long-distance travel and paralysis.
Document the DVT/PE risk assessment and prevention plan in your patient’s records.
Institute explicit policy and procedures for the prevention of DVT/PE. According to the National Quality Forum (NQF) safety guidelines, effective clinical interventions to prevent DVT/PE include intermittent calf compression devices, graduated compression stockings, subcutaneous administration of low molecular weight heparin and oral administration of aspirin or warfarin.

About the Coalition

In February 2003, more than 60 organizations assembled at the Public Health Leadership Conference on Deep-Vein Thrombosis in Washington, D.C. to discuss the urgent need to make DVT a top public health priority in the United States. At this meeting which was co-hosted by the APHA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the participants agreed to establish a Coalition of organizations committed to educating the public and healthcare community about DVT and the importance of recognizing risk factors and implementing preventive measures early to help save lives. One of the outcomes of this meeting was the decision to develop a White Paper entitled “Deep-Vein Thrombosis: Advancing Awareness to Protect Patient Lives,” which was sponsored by the APHA. The paper describes the scope of the problem, risk factors, barriers and prevention.

The mission of the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis is:

To reduce the immediate and long-term dangers of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), which together comprise one of the nation’s leading causes of death. The Coalition will educate the public, healthcare professionals and policy-makers about risk factors, symptoms and signs associated with DVT as well as identify evidence-based measures to prevent morbidity and mortality from DVT and PE.

We hope you will participate in this important educational campaign. Please log onto www.preventdvt.org to obtain additional information. The DVT Awareness Month campaign is sponsored by the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Aventis.