The Current Status of Screening for Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera in Clinical Practice-Report from a Single Institution.

OBJECTIVE

We investigate the current status of screening for essential thrombocythemia(ET)and polycythemia vera(PV), at our hospital.

METHODS

According to the World Health Organization(WHO)diagnostic criteria.

PATIENTS: All patients who visited Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital between May 1984(when the hospital opened)and January 2019.

RESULT: More than 90% of patients with elevated platelet counts(PLT)(n=25,062)and more than 90% of patients with elevated hemoglobin( Hb)or hematocrit(Ht)levels(n=16,422)did not visit the department of hematology, suggesting that there could be a high percentage of patients with potentially latent ET and PV visiting the hospital. In addition, a large number of patients fulfilling the laboratory criteria for ET/PV visited various departments of the hospital other than the department of hematology.

CONCLUSION

Because ET/PV manifests with diverse symptoms, including non-specific symptoms and symptoms pertaining to other organ systems. Based on the findings, we consider that it is essential to disseminate information about the WHO diagnostic criteria/clinical symptoms and possibility of latent ET/PV to all departments of the hospital, and to establish cooperation between the department of hematology and other departments.