Avoiding disease mongering: A checklist for vascular physicians and researchers

Article Article scientifique Revue de la littérature Avoiding disease mongering: A checklist for vascular physicians and researchers eng 2019 author Frappé Paul 885111 author Haller Dagmar M. 0000-0003-1781-3318 549986 author Roméas Andrea author Bertoletti Laurent author Francois Mathilde 817853 author Robert-Ebadi Helia 640824 author Righini Marc Philip 38989 120-123 10.1016/j.thromres.2019.08.001 31400622 0049-3848 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004938481930324X Disease mongering is an expression created in 1992 by a medical journalist, Lynn Payer, to qualify the "selling of sickness that widens the boundaries of treatable illness in order to expand markets for those who sell and deliver treatments". This interesting concept led us to question whether, as researchers with publication and career interests in superficial vein thrombosis, we were not shaping a benign condition into a disease. Since the publication of the CALISTO trial in 2010, anticoagulant management of superficial vein thrombosis remains debated. Issues raised, such as the cost-effectiveness of the treatment strategy, the use of a composite endpoint including death, the low event rate without mortality reduction and conflict of interest due to industrial funding. We searched Embase, Medline, Web of science, and Opengrey databases to review all aspects about disease mongering raised in the literature and created a checklist with seventeen items. We used this checklist as support for a narrative review, questioning known literature on superficial vein thrombosis. The main issues pointing towards disease mongering concerned definition and promotion; whereas management seemed rather spared. Many arguments could be counterbalanced, but researchers should pay particular attention to three major points: exaggeration of the severity of the disease and potential adverse outcomes without treatment, promotion by opinion leaders, and an openly declared, yet undoubtedly present, conflict of interest situation. Medical ethics Awareness Disease management Venous thromboembolism Saphenous vein Dewey 613 Dewey 616 56 Département de médecine 221 202 Unité des internistes généralistes et pédiatres 22A92 219 Institut universitaire de médecine de famille et de l'enfance 22A93 false 477 La maladie thromboembolique veineuse 808 958 Médecine interne générale et pédiatrie ambulatoires 968 Thrombosis Research 181 5777d672-3755-41fc-b877-127ce5f2b15c Article (Published version) Restricted Frappe_et_al_avoiding_dieseas_mogering_2019-1.pdf 492810 application/pdf restrictedAccess Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de médecine Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de santé et médecine communautaires / Institut de médecine de premier recours / Unité des internistes généralistes et pédiatres Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de santé et médecine communautaires / Institut de médecine de premier recours / Institut universitaire de médecine de famille et de l'enfance

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