Application of the ISTH bleeding score in hemophilia

Background: Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder. With proper treatment and self-care, persons with hemophilia can maintain an active, productive lifestyle. Hemophilia can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the degree of plasma dotting factor deficiency. The aim of the study was to assess the utility of ISTH-BAT in diagnosis, determining severity of the bleeding condition in newly diagnosed and known hemophilia patients, compare the bleeding score (BS) in adult and pediatric groups and investigate its association with plasma factor levels. Methods: ISTH-BAT was used to assess BS in a total of 115 patients, 78 with hemophilia A, and 37 with hemophilia B and in 100 controls. Results: BS was significantly higher in HA and HB patients as compared to controls, with no significant difference between HA and HB. The BS was very similar in newly diagnosed compared to known hemophilia patients, lower in pediatric compared to adult and higher in severe compared to mild HA patients. Conclusion: The ISTH BAT can help identify hemophilia patients. Therefore it is a useful tool to distinguish between affected and unaffected individuals with bleeding. Moreover, an important finding of our study is that there is no major difference between the scores in known and newly diagnosed patients.