By Roy Silverstein, MD, and Gary Edward Raskob, PhD
2008-07-01
Dr. Silverstein is Professor of Molecular Medicine and Chairman
of the Department of Cell Biology at the Lerner Research Institute. He
is also Chair of the ASH Committee on Government Affairs.
Dr. Raskob is Dean of the College of Public Health, Professor of
Epidemiology, and Professor of Medicine at The University of Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center. He consults for and receives
honoraria from Bayer, BMS, Daiichi-Sankyo, GSK, Johnson &
Johnson/Scios, Pfizer, Sanofi-aventis, and ThromboGenics.
Venous thrombosis affects up to 1 million Americans each year and
has been called by some the "silent killer." Despite the large impact
thrombosis has on the population, the United States has not yet
developed/implemented a surveillance system for thrombosis. To improve
understanding of the scope and scale of the problem and begin to
identify key elements in a surveillance system, ASH convened a
successful workshop in Washington, DC, on June 12.
ASH worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
in planning the workshop with the ultimate goal of identifying key
questions that need to be answered through a national surveillance
system and scientific approaches that can answer them. ASH scheduled
the workshop in the first half of the year because interest about
thrombosis within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is
growing. The Surgeon General's Office is expected to issue a "Call to
Action" this year stating that the United States is facing a major
public health crisis regarding venous thrombosis, and leadership at the
CDC National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
(NCBDDD) identified thrombosis as one of its top four priorities in
2008.
We had the privilege of jointly chairing the one-day symposium that
assembled a group of 30 participants including representatives from
relevant federal agencies, patient groups, and the medical and public
health communities. Experts from various subspecialties discussed their
"front-line" perspective of dealing with venous thromboembolic
disorders (VTE). The subspecialty experts included representatives from
the following communities: pediatric and adult hematology, obstetrics
and gynecology, geriatrics, emergency medicine and trauma, radiology,
and surgery. A hospitalist and intensivist were also present. In
addition, experts in epidemiology and health-care policy leaders lent
their expertise to the discussion.
A workshop writing committee is developing a summary of the
meeting's deliberations and will produce a report identifying
recommendations and next steps. Once finalized, the document will be
shared with the ASH membership, relevant federal agencies, patient
groups, and the medical and public health communities.
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