Chan, LC

Lam, CCK

Leung, KFS

Hong Kong Medical Journal

HKU Scholars Hub

Title Venous thromboembolism in the Chinese population -Experience in a regional hospital in Hong KongAuthor(s) Leung, KFS; Lam, CCK; Chan, LCCitation Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2003, v. 9 n. 2, p. 151Issued Date 2003URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/54178Rights Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong LicenseHong Kong Med J Vol 9 No 2 April 2003      151LETTER TO THE EDITORVenous thromboembolism in the Chinese population—experience in a regional hospital in Hong KongTo the Editor—We note with interest the recent publication“Venous thromboembolism in the Chinese population—experience in a regional hospital in Hong Kong”.1 Theauthors mentioned that the use of thrombophilic screeningtests were limited, partly due to financial constraints andpartly due to the low frequency of the condition in Chinesepeople. Based on these data, however, of the 16 selectedpatients tested, six had hereditary thrombophilia (eitherprotein C or protein S deficiency) and four had lupus anti-coagulant (LA).1 Hence, hereditary thrombophilia wasdetected in 37.5% (6/16) of patients and, overall, 62.5%(10/16) of patients had thrombophilia. Moreover, in a previ-ous study conducted locally, of the 52 consecutive Chinesepatients with documented venous thrombosis, 25 hadhereditary thrombophilia (either antithrombin, protein C, orprotein S deficiency) and five had LA and/or anticardiolipinantibodies.2 This accounts for a prevalence rate for heredi-tary thrombophilia of 48% (25/52) with an overall rate of58% (30/52) with thrombophilia. This suggests a high inci-dence of thrombophilia detected in selected groups ofpatients. Although we agree with Liu et al1 that thrombo-philic testing is expensive, screening is justified to identifyat-risk patients who will receive appropriate prophylacticanticoagulation and advice aimed at prevention of recurrentthromboembolism. We recommend that thrombophilicscreening should be performed, at least for selected patientgroups such as those with spontaneous venous thrombo-embolism, thrombosis occurring at unusual sites or recur-rent thrombosis, young age of onset (younger than 45 yearsold), and family history of thrombosis.3KFS Leung, MB, ChBCCK Lam, MB, BS, FRCPathLC Chan, FRCP, PhD (Lond), FRCPathDivision of HaematologyDepartment of PathologyQueen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam RoadHong KongReferences1. Liu HS, Kho BC, Chan JC, et al. Venous thromboembolism in theChinese population—experience in a regional hospital in Hong Kong.Hong Kong Med J 2002;8:400-5.2. Liu HW, Kwong YL, Bourke C, et al. High incidence of thrombophiliadetected in Chinese patients with venous thrombosis. Thromb Haemost1994;71:416-9.3. Investigation and management of heritable thrombophilia. Br JHaematol 2001;114:512-28.

Venous thromboembolism in the Chinese population - Experience in a regional hospital in Hong Kong

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Venous thromboembolism in the Chinese population - Experience in a regional hospital in Hong Kong

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