• Qun Li, Bo Zhang, Qianwen Cheng, Fei Zhao, Junying Li, Han Yan, Aoshuang Xu, Chunyan Sun, and Yu Hu.
• Institute of Hematology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
• Ann. Med. 2023 Jan 1; 55 (2): 22630192263019.

BackgroundVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the most common and severe complications of multiple myeloma (MM). The aim of this study was to learn about the current awareness regarding MM-associated VTE among Chinese hematologists.MethodsA nationwide, online, questionnaire-based survey was sent to the specialized hematologists in mainland China. The questionnaire investigated respondents' demographic and occupational characteristics, their ability to identify VTE risk factors, and their thromboprophylaxis decisions for different anti-MM regimens. Six clinical vignettes were used to evaluate hematologists' awareness of stratified thromboprophylaxis. The data were analyzed using SPSS software.ResultsA total of 518 valid questionnaires were received. Of the 518 hematologists investigated, only 23.7% of them could identify VTE-related risk factors correctly. Most hematologists could select appropriate thromboprophylaxis for common anti-MM regimens such as VCd (bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamethasone) and VRd (bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone), but not for uncommon ones such as VTD-PACE (bortezomib, thalidomide, dexamethasone, cisplatin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide) and KRd (carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone). The results from the vignettes suggested that only 19.5% of the hematologists could be defined as the 'stratified thromboprophylaxis' group, and the awareness of stratified thromboprophylaxis depended significantly on physicians' age and working seniority.ConclusionThe results of our study showed that a large proportion of Chinese hematologists failed to recognize the VTE risk factors, most of them cannot select appropriate thromboprophylaxis for different MM therapeutic regimens and lack awareness of stratified thromboprophylaxis for MM-associated VTE. A standard VTE prevention guideline is urgently needed for the Chinese myeloma group. Continuous education for new professionals should be encouraged. A VTE collaborative group is supposed to be established in each hospital to enhance the overall medical care for VTE patients.

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