Alaklabi Ali, AlNujaim Shouq Mohammed, Alghaihab Sarah Mohammed, AlDakhil Sadeem Ahmed, AlKethami Obeid Mohammed, Rajendram Rajkumar
Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ann Thorac Med. 2023 Jan-Mar;18(1):15-22. doi: 10.4103/atm.atm_147_22. Epub 2023 Jan 25.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) causes significant morbidity and mortality. International studies have suggested poor public awareness of VTE, with a few data from Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and awareness of VTE in the Saudi population. Awareness of other important diseases was also investigated to allow contextualization.
A cross-sectional survey study was conducted throughout Saudi Arabia from April to June 2021. A nonprobability, purposive, social media-driven, snowballing sampling technique was used to distribute a validated online questionnaire to Saudi adults (aged over 18 years) from the general population.
Of 1226 respondents, 214 were excluded as they were health-care professionals. The majority of the participants were unaware and unconcerned about VTE. They were more aware of other medical conditions such as hypertension. Immobility and old age were frequently recognized as risk factors for VTE. While less than half of the participants were aware that thrombosis is the cause of VTE, most participants correctly identified leg pain and tenderness as symptoms of deep venous thrombosis. The majority of the participants identified chest pain and breathlessness as symptoms of pulmonary embolism. However, leg paralysis and slow, shallow breathing were frequently identified as symptoms of VTE. The majority of subjects disagreed with the statement, "having a blood clot is not considered a medical emergency." Awareness of VTE varied significantly with age.
In Saudi Arabia, the public awareness of VTE is poor. To improve outcomes, public health initiatives must increase awareness, introduce preventive measures, encourage early diagnosis, and ensure compliance with treatment.
静脉血栓栓塞症（VTE）会导致严重的发病率和死亡率。国际研究表明公众对VTE的认知不足，沙特阿拉伯的相关数据较少。本研究的目的是调查沙特人群对VTE的知识和认知情况。还对其他重要疾病的认知情况进行了调查，以便进行背景分析。
2021年4月至6月在沙特阿拉伯全国范围内进行了一项横断面调查研究。采用非概率、目的性、社交媒体驱动的滚雪球抽样技术，向来自普通人群的沙特成年人（18岁以上）发放一份经过验证的在线问卷。
在1226名受访者中，214名因是医疗保健专业人员而被排除。大多数参与者对VTE不了解且不关心。他们对其他医疗状况如高血压更为了解。活动不便和老年常被认为是VTE的危险因素。虽然不到一半的参与者知道血栓形成是VTE的病因，但大多数参与者正确地将腿痛和压痛识别为深静脉血栓形成的症状。大多数参与者将胸痛和呼吸急促识别为肺栓塞的症状。然而，腿部麻痹和呼吸缓慢、浅表常被识别为VTE的症状。大多数受试者不同意“有血栓不被视为医疗紧急情况”这一说法。对VTE的认知随年龄有显著差异。
在沙特阿拉伯，公众对VTE的认知较差。为改善结果，公共卫生举措必须提高认知、引入预防措施、鼓励早期诊断并确保治疗依从性。
