COMET Initiative | Evaluation of patients' experience and related qualitative outcomes in venous thromboembolism: A scoping review

Evaluation of patients' experience and related qualitative outcomes in venous thromboembolism: A scoping review

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a prevalent disease with high morbid-ity and mortality. VTE has well-documented physical sequelae; however, the psycho-logical and emotional impacts are seldom evaluated in randomized controlled trials.
Objective: We conducted a scoping review of published qualitative studies aiming to understand the physical, psychological, and emotional impact of VTE as reflected from patients' perspectives. This scoping review is part of a larger initiative to develop a core outcome set for VTE treatment studies.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify qualitative stud-ies assessing patient experience of VTE. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts using Covidence systematic review software. Full-text reviews were conducted independently by 2 study team members. A modified method of “thematic synthesis” was used to collate themes upon reading and rereading of the publications.
Results: Our search strategy returned a total of 4944 citations; 28 were ultimately included in the analysis. The studies were conducted across 13 countries and rep-resentative of 436 participants including a spectrum of VTE subpopulations. There were seven major themes identified: Acute impacts: an unforeseen blow, Sustained psychological distress, Loss of self: life is changed, Challenges of thrombosis manage-ment, Balancing coping and control, Negative experience with the medical system, and VTE in the context of other conditions.
Conclusions: The physical, psychological, and emotional impacts of VTE extend be-yond objective outcomes typically evaluated in clinical trials. An improved under-standing of the outcomes most important to patients will improve patient-centered care in VTE.

Aim

We conducted a scoping review of published qualitative studies aiming to understand the physical, psychological, and emotional impact of VTE as reflected from patients' perspectives.

Contributors

Leanne Genge, Alexa Krala, Tobias Tritschler, Gregoire Le Gal, Nicole Langlois, Suzanne Dubois, Carol West, Lisa Duffett, Leslie Skeith

Publication

Journal: Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH
Volume: 20
Issue:
Pages: 2323 - 2341
Year: 2022
DOI: 10.1111/jth.15788

Further Study Information

Current Stage: Ongoing
Date:
Funding source(s): The VTE-COS project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PJT- 165897) and is supported by the CanVECTOR Network (Canadian Venous Thromboembolism Research Network); the CanVECTOR Network receives grant funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CDT-142654). T.T. was supported by a Fellowship Award from the CanVECTOR Network. T.T., G.L.G., L.D., and L.S. are active investigators of the CanVECTOR Network. G.L.G. is supported by a Mid-Career Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, and a Research Chair on the Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa

Health Area

Disease Category: Blood disorders

Disease Name: Venous thromboembolism

Target Population

Age Range: Unknown

Sex: Either

Nature of Intervention:

Stakeholders Involved

Study Type

- Systematic review of qualitative research

Method(s)

- Systematic review

We searched Ovid MEDLINE (1946 to July 30, 2020), EMBASE (1947 to July 30, 2020), APA PsycINFO (1806 to July 30, 2020), and CINAHL (1937 to July 30, 2020) without language restriction using MeSH terms and key words which broadly encompassed VTE and qualitative research.