The award, endowed with USD 500, was presented this year to Dr. Tim Dreier from the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Research Group at the Clinical Division of Hematology and Hemostasis for his abstract, “Discriminating Factors of Bleeding Disorder of Unknown Cause in a Cohort of Patients with Mild to Moderate Bleeding Disorders.”
As part of his PhD studies, Dr. Dreier focuses on patients with mild to moderate coagulation disorders, including von Willebrand syndrome and platelet function disorders. However, in a significant portion of this patient cohort, no specific diagnosis of a coagulation disorder can be established, despite occasionally severe bleeding symptoms. These patients are currently classified under the diagnosis of “Bleeding Disorder of Unknown Cause” (BDUC). The aim of the submitted project was to identify factors associated with the BDUC diagnosis in this cohort. While patients diagnosed with BDUC exhibited bleeding symptoms as severe as those of patients with established coagulation disorder diagnoses, the factors "female sex" and "higher age" were significantly associated with a BDUC diagnosis.