The prevalence of self-reported bleeding tendency symptoms among adolescents in Almadinah Almunawwarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Bleeding tendency is a common medical problem that is usually caused by either coagulation factors abnormalities, platelets disorders, or vasculopathy. Detection of patients with high bleeding risk through history taking and accurate diagnosis followed by appropriate management will help decreasing chances of significant complications.

Methodology: A cross-sectional survey of a random sample of adolescent students in the preparatory year at Taibah University in Almadinah Almunawwarah, Saudi Arabia were interviewed using a validated semi-structured condensed bleeding tendency questionnaire generated from Molecular and Clinical Markers for the Diagnosis and Management of (MCMDM-1).

Results: A total of 680 questionnaires were collected, the phase I data were analyzed to determine participants who gave a positive response to any related question while in Phase II respondents with at least one positive response of any bleeding symptom were interviewed. More than half 52.6% (358 out of 680) were positive for any bleeding symptoms. The incidence rose to 70.9% (482 out of 680) if "Mild" symptoms were also included. Epistaxis was positive in 21.8%, Cutaneous symptoms were reported by 22.65%, Bleeding from the oral cavity was reported in 39.6%, Gastrointestinal bleeding was observed by 5.9%, bleeding after the first surgery reported in 21% and Muscle hematomas/hemoarthrosis was observed by 3.2%, Among female papulation, 16.1% reported having 6-10 "Heavy Days" during their menstrual cycles.

Discussion: High prevalence of bleeding symptoms having the possibility of the presence of an Inherited Bleeding Disorders were observed in our study in comparison to other studies, this might be attributed to the high percentage of consanguinity marriages in our area.

Recommendations: Raising awareness among family doctors and pediatricians about the possibility of presence of bleeding tendency utilizing good history taking followed by appropriate examination and laboratory confirmatory testing will help in early detection and managements.

Keywords: Adolescents; bleeding; hereditary; screening.

Figure 1

Age distribution of the respondents by gender