THE MALMO-KLAIPEDA WFH TWINNING PROGRAM - A COMPARATIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE HEMOPHILIA COHORTS

In 1994, the Malmo-Klaipeda twinning programme was approved by the Wor ld Federation of Hemophilia. One of the first steps in the collaborati on has been to set up a registry of the haemophilia patients in the Kl aipeda area. In order to collect important clinical data the patients have been examined jointly by experts on haemophilia from the two cent res. Seventeen out of 25 patients with severe haemophilia known at the Klaipeda centre were examined and compared to a matched cohort of pat ients from the Malmo centre. The main differences between the cohorts were that home treatment was not available to the Klaipeda patients, t hey received less treatment in general, had higher joint scores and mo re frequent bleeds. The pattern of transmission of blood-borne virus w as very similar, with a high prevalence of hepatitis C antibodies. We conclude that the twinning programme between Malmo and Klaipeda has re sulted in several achievements, including training of staff and a nece ssary inventory of the patients. This should not only form a suitable platform for the future development of haemophilia care in Lithuania, but could also serve as an example for liaisons between other haemophi lia centres.