Grant: Project Grant

Blood clots in the veins (called venous thromboembolism or VTE) are common and affect up to 70,000 Canadians per year. This condition can be fatal if a blood clot in the leg or arm travels to the lungs. Treatment mostly relies on anticoagulants (blood thinners), which are very effective but involve risks and inconvenience for patients. Clinical trials are vital for determining the effectiveness of new treatments. Researchers measure outcomes that they believe are important for decision-making. Two problems that we have identified in clinical trials of VTE treatment are: 1) inconsistent measurement of outcomes, and 2) they may not be measuring all outcomes that are important, especially to patients but also to other stakeholders such as policy makers. The development of "core outcome sets" is gaining popularity as a strategy to address these problems. They are an agreed upon collection of standardized outcomes that should be measured and reported for a condition. A variety of perspectives are required to create a useful core outcome set. CanVECTOR, a national VTE research network, plans to involve researchers, clinicians, patients and other stakeholders to decide together on the best outcomes for VTE studies. We will seek input from international groups to develop a core outcome set that is applicable worldwide. Our project has several steps: 1) Review VTE studies to create a comprehensive list of outcomes; 2) Hold small group sessions with patients to identify outcomes that are meaningful to them; 3) Survey a large group of clinicians, researchers, patients and policy makers to prioritize the list of outcomes; 4) Hold a consensus meeting with representatives of each group to decide on the final core outcome set; and 5) Introduce and promote the core outcome set to Canadian and International researchers and stakeholders in our Canadian and global networks.