• Makoto Yoshimitsu, Midori Ono, Yoichi Inoue, Rieko Sagara, Terumi Baba, and Jovelle Fernandez.
• Department of Hematology and Rheumatology, Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan.
• Intern Med J. 2023 Jun 1; 53 (6): 930938930-938.

BackgroundGaucher disease (GD) is a rare, inherited metabolic disorder resulting from glucocerebrosidase deficiency. Patients benefit from early treatment as complications can arise from delayed diagnosis.AimsTo measure GD awareness among Japanese haematologists and gastroenterologists, who are the specialists most likely to encounter patients with symptoms recognised in the Gaucher Earlier Diagnosis Consensus (GED-C), such as hepatosplenomegaly and thrombocytopenia. Additionally, we aimed to determine key signs from the GED-C associated with early diagnosis.MethodsA quantitative web survey assessed Japanese haematologists and gastroenterologists for their (i) basic awareness of GD, (ii) explicit awareness of GD signs, (iii) explicit awareness of GD treatments and (iv) accuracy in suspecting GD in model patients.ResultsSurvey results from 160 haematologists and 166 gastroenterologists indicated that more than 50% of haematologists were aware of GD symptoms, diagnostic criteria and/or treatments, and 38% of them had experienced or suspected GD. The majority of gastroenterologists were unaware of GD or knew the disease only by name, with 20% experiencing or suspecting GD in practice. Almost 70% of haematologists knew of enzyme replacement therapy, while 47% of gastroenterologists were not aware of any treatments for GD. Of the GED-C items, an awareness of bone-associated signs was correlated with accurate GD diagnosis in model patients and this awareness was greater among haematologists than gastroenterologists.ConclusionsThe present study showed that haematologists had greater awareness of GD than gastroenterologists, and that bone pain may be a key sign of GD to enhance early diagnosis.© 2022 The Authors. Internal Medicine Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

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