Sociodemographic Characteristics of Patients Seen at Vascular Anomaly Centers in the United States

Bryan A Sisk; Whitney Eng; Jamie Aye; Joana Mack; Andrew Tran; Jayme Ogino; Erika Pearson; Joshua Bies; Gayle Smink; Sonal D Shah; Lindsey Mohney; Hannah Fassel; Rachael Schulte; Vivian Y Chang; Renae A Tessem; Marcia Hogeling; Neeraja Swaminathan; Thomas W McLean; Julie Blatt; Sara Alturky; Melinda Wu; Autumn Atkinson; Ahmad Al-Huniti; Gita Massey; Elissa Engel; Kiersten Ricci; Tyson Echols; Sumukh Kumar; Michael Fox; Katherine A King

doi:10.1002/pbc.31661

Sociodemographic Characteristics of Patients Seen at Vascular Anomaly Centers in the United States

Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Jun;72(6):e31661. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31661. Epub 2025 Mar 17.

Authors

Bryan A Sisk^{1

2}, Whitney Eng³, Jamie Aye⁴, Joana Mack⁵, Andrew Tran⁵, Jayme Ogino⁶, Erika Pearson⁷, Joshua Bies⁸, Gayle Smink⁹, Sonal D Shah¹⁰, Lindsey Mohney¹⁰, Hannah Fassel¹¹, Rachael Schulte¹², Vivian Y Chang¹³, Renae A Tessem¹⁴, Marcia Hogeling¹⁴, Neeraja Swaminathan¹⁵, Thomas W McLean¹⁶, Julie Blatt¹⁷, Sara Alturky¹⁸, Melinda Wu¹⁸, Autumn Atkinson¹⁹, Ahmad Al-Huniti²⁰, Gita Massey²¹, Elissa Engel^{22

23}, Kiersten Ricci^{22

23}, Tyson Echols²⁴, Sumukh Kumar²⁴, Michael Fox²⁴, Katherine A King²⁵

Affiliations

¹ Bioethics Research Center, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
² Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
³ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Children's of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
⁵ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
⁶ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Cancer and Blood Disease Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
⁷ Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA.
⁸ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
⁹ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Dermatology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
¹¹ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Hasbro Children's/Brown University Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
¹² Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplant, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
¹³ Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
¹⁴ Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
¹⁵ Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
¹⁶ Section of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
¹⁷ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
¹⁸ Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
²⁰ Mayo Clinic, Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
²¹ Division of Pediatric Hematology, Children's Hospital of Richmond, Oncology, and Cellular Therapy, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
²² Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
²³ Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute, Division of Hematology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
²⁴ Division of Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Vascular Anomalies Program, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
²⁵ Division of Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

PMID: 40091541
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.31661

Abstract

Patients with vascular anomalies (VAs) require expert multidisciplinary care. No prior studies have characterized the sociodemographic characteristics across multiple VA centers. We collected data on 5783 patients receiving care at 20 VA centers between July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022. Male patients were underrepresented compared to the state-level census data at 17/20 centers. Black and Asian patients were underrepresented at 14/20 and 12/20 centers, respectively. The median distance to the hospital was 48 miles, and median age was 12.0 years. These data suggest that race, sex, age, and distance from the hospital could impede the ability to access expert VA care.

Keywords: disparities; sociodemographics; vascular malformation.

Publication types

Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health Services Accessibility* / statistics & numerical data
Hospitals, Veterans* / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Middle Aged
Prognosis
Sociodemographic Factors
United States / epidemiology
Vascular Malformations* / epidemiology
Vascular Malformations* / therapy
Young Adult