Epidemiological, Demographic, and Clinical Characteristics of Von Willebrand Disease Patients in Zahedan City, Iran: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background: Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is one of the most common coagulative diseases, so identifying the effective factors in preventing this complication is essential. The study aimed to evaluate the frequency of demographic and epidemiological findings in VWD patients referred to a hospital in Zahedan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 76 patients with VWD referred to Hazrat Ali-Asghar Hospital in Zahedan City, Sistan, and Baluchestan province. After obtaining consent from the patients, the demographic information and clinical symptoms of the disease were recorded. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 22.0 software. All descriptive data were expressed as mean ±SD and percent (%) depending on the continuous and dichotomous variables. A P-value ≤0.05 was considered significant statistically. Results: The present study results showed that the highest age group of VWD patients at the time of disease diagnosis was in the age group 1-5 years (47.3%), and most patients had type III VWD (80.3%). It was also found that 67.1% of patients had a positive family history and their parents' consanguineous marriage (77.6%). The most common complaints were epistaxis (88.15%), cutaneous bleeding (78.94%), and oral cavity bleeding (61.84%), respectively. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of VWD in consanguineous marriages and an increase in adverse complications and symptoms in VWD patients, proper diagnosis and screening at an early age, especially in people with family history, is essential. Efforts are needed to develop national registries and widely provide the required and available basic services for diagnosis and treatment.