All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine wants to educate parents and families about blood clots. The hospital is sharing a new article on frequently asked questions about blood clots with families, highlighting the symptoms, causes and research being done in the area of blood clots.

Each year, up to 900,000 Americans suffer deep vein thrombosis — when a blood clot forms in a large vein and blocks circulation. Although rare, pediatric blood clots affect one in every 10,000 children in the community. However, hospitalized children can become more susceptible to blood clots for various reasons including complications from central venous catheters which are used to give medicines, fluids, nutrients or blood products over long periods of time. Sometimes certain medications or lack of mobility can also cause blood clots in children.

All Children’s Hospital is continuing its effort to learn more about blood clots in children and treat these conditions. The hospital is leading the multi-center Kids-DOTT (Duration of Therapy for Thrombosis) clinical trial. With nearly 40 children’s hospitals participating in the trial from around the world and more than 230 children enrolled to date, researchers hope to determine whether children with venous thrombosis — a blood clot in a vein — can safely and effectively receive only six weeks of treatment with anti-clotting medication, called an anticoagulant, instead of the current conventional treatment duration of three months.

Neil Goldenberg, M.D., Ph.D., director of research at All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine and associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, leads the pediatric thrombosis program at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, with hematology physician Irmel Ayala, M.D., and at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, directed by hematology physician Clifford Takemoto, M.D. Dr. Goldenberg is also helping to lead a national effort on blood clot risk assessment and prevention and hospitalized children. In the next few months, All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine will become one of the first children’s hospitals in the country to implement a systematic approach, powered by the electronic medical record and family-centered rounds, which will assess blood clotting risk and take steps for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism prevention on each child admitted to the hospital.

“All Children’s Hospital is advancing our understanding of blood clots in children with investigations to discover clinical and molecular predictors of outcome in this health problem that is becoming more common in children,” said Dr. Goldenberg. “In addition, the hospital serves as a participating or lead center for pharmaceutical company developed pediatric clinical trials of new anticoagulant medications. Furthermore, the multinational Kids-DOTT trial led by All Children’s Hospital will help to define the standard of care in anticoagulant treatment for venous thrombosis in children and young adults.”

About Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine in St. Petersburg is the most advanced children’s hospital on Florida’s west coast and a U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital. As a 259-bed teaching hospital, All Children’s provides compassionate and comprehensive care while training the next generation of pediatric experts and leading innovative research to cure and prevent childhood diseases. A network of 10 outpatient centers and All Children’s Specialty Physicians at regional affiliate hospitals provide care closer to home. Founded in 1926, All Children’s Hospital continues to expand its mission in treatment, research, education and advocacy to help children from Florida and around the world. For more information, visit www.allkids.org