Clinicopathological Profile of the von Willebrand Disease in a Tertiary Care Centre in Varanasi

Objective The von Willebrand disease (vWD) is one of the most common inherited bleeding disorders in India; however, the diagnostic tests and its interpretation require specialized laboratory and personnel which are not readily available in the eastern part of North India. The purpose of this study is to estimate the relative prevalence of vWD and study the clinical and laboratory features including advanced diagnostic tests. Methods All patients referred to the pathology department for evaluation of bleeding were evaluated for vWD during a period of 4 years. Clinical and laboratory features were analyzed and reported. Results A total of 1,126 cases of bleeding manifestations were evaluated, and 237 cases of inherited bleeding disorders were diagnosed; vWD was diagnosed in 38 (16%) of these 237 cases. Advanced diagnostic tests were done in all of these cases. Conclusion The vWD is among the most common inherited bleeding disorders in the country, second only to hemophilia A. Type-1 vWD was the most frequent with 25 cases (65.7%), followed by type-2N with 7 cases (18.4%).