Reducing the time to von Willebrand disease (VWD) diagnosis would likely improve outcomes, according to a study involving more than 32,000 individuals. Investigators looked at how diagnosis and diagnostic delay impacted outcomes in participants with VWD, including those newly-diagnosed. Among the results:

• Most bleeding symptoms were managed by a hospitalist/emergency room physician before diagnosis.
• VWD misrecognition was common; one-fourth of patients visited the same kind of specialist at least twice for a bleeding episode pre-diagnosis.
• 37% of patients had no diagnostic laboratory test within 24 months of their initial diagnosis.
• 41% of women had bleed claims pre-diagnosis, compared with 21% post-diagnosis.
• Pre- and post-diagnosis bleed claims in men were 26% and 9%, respectively.
• Proportion of patients with multiple bleed claims also decreased before and after diagnosis.
• Regularly misrecognized patients continued to have more bleeding episodes, though less frequently than before diagnosis.