The number of women being screened for von Willebrand disease (VWD) before undergoing hysterectomy for heavy menstrual bleeding is “very low” and appears not to align with current recommendations, according to a retrospective analysis.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ciara Gosier
“One essential reason to identify females with VWD prior to hysterectomy or hysterectomy alternative is to avoid peri‐ and postoperative complications,” Amanda E. Jacobson‐Kelly, MD, of Ohio State University in Columbus and her colleagues wrote in a letter to the editor published in Haemophilia.
Current recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups call for consideration of underlying bleeding disorders in women with heavy menstrual bleeding and additional risks factors, such as family history of abnormal bleeding.
In this study, researchers retrospectively analyzed 8,998 women under the age of 40 years who had a hysterectomy for heavy menstrual bleeding without a known bleeding disorder. Patient data was collected from a national insurance claims database representative of the entire U.S. population.
“We hypothesized that the overall frequency of VWD screening would be low, despite [more than] 15 years of expert recommendations,” the team wrote.
Study participants were included if they had a diagnosis of anemia or heavy menstrual bleeding before surgery, while women with certain genital malignancies and fibroids were excluded. Other information, such as age, geographical factors, and insurance-related factors were also included to evaluate whether these parameters affected disease screening.
After analysis, the researchers found that just 0.6% (n = 57) of women were screened for VWD in the 12 months leading up to surgery. Additionally, they reported that 14% (n = 1,276) of women underwent other forms of coagulation testing before surgery, such as partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time.
“We found that greater distance to a [hemophilia treatment center] was strongly predictive of decreased likelihood of undergoing VWD screening,” Dr. Jacobson‐Kelly and her colleagues wrote.
The authors acknowledged that a key limitation of the study was the inability to account for factors not recorded in the database, including drug use, family history of bleeding disorders, and ethnicity.
“This study brings to light the need for the hematology community to improve education and awareness among women’s health providers,” they wrote.
The study was supported by grant funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.
SOURCE: Jacobson-Kelly AE et al. Haemophilia. 2019 Feb 28. doi: 10.1111/hae.13709.