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HIDDEN: Hospice Inpatient Deep vein thrombosis detection study

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Project Description

Between four and 20% of cancer patients will develop venous thromboembolism (VTE) during their illness but the true number is unknown as patients may be asymptomatic. Furthermore, we do not know whether apparently “silent” deep vein thromboses (DVTs), if untreated, will progress to cause swollen, painful legs, or a clot to the lung (pulmonary embolus [PE]) possibly resulting in chest pain, breathlessness, collapse or death, or whether the clots would resolve by themselves. There are UK treatment guidelines to prevent VTE in cancer patients admitted to hospital. However, we do not know whether these should apply to advanced cancer patients admitted to specialist palliative care units (SPCU) such as hospices, as there is some evidence to suggest that there is no survival benefit in this group. Furthermore, we do not know whether treatment to prevent VTE improves symptom control and quality of life, or if benefit outweighs the risk of treatment (e.g. bleeding) in these patients. Therefore, it is important to discover the proportion of cancer patients in SPCUs with a VTE and the impact this has so we know how we should manage people with advanced cancer.

The aim of the HIDDen study is to identify the proportion of cancer patients admitted to SPCUs who have a VTE. A Doppler scanner will be used to scan patients’ legs to determine whether they have a DVT, and then they will be followed up to see what happens to them. A Doppler scanner is easy to use, cheaper than other methods and can be used at the hospice bedside. Consecutive admissions to SPCUs in England (one site), Northern Ireland (three sites) and Wales (one site) will be recruited into the study until 217 cancer patients are accrued. The results of this study will inform clinical guidelines on VTE prevention in SPCUs.

Project Acronym HIDDen
Status Project Complete
Value £112,940.00
Project Dates May 27, 2016 - Dec 31, 2019

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