Incidence, clinical characteristics and long-term prognosis of postoperative symptomatic venous thromboembolism: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, clinical characteristics and prognosis of postoperative symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) in Japan.

Design: Retrospective observational study. Two data sets, Contemporary ManageMent AND outcomes in patients with Venous ThromboEmbolism (COMMAND VTE) Registry and Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists (JSA) annual report, were used for current analyses.

Setting: Eighteen of 29 centres participated in the COMMAND VTE Registry.

Participants: Acute symptomatic patients with VTE who had undergone surgery 2 months prior to the diagnosis at 18 centres from January 2010 to December 2013 were identified in the COMMAND VTE Registry. From each centre's JSA annual report, the overall population that had received anaesthetic management during this period was retrieved.

Interventions: None.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome was the incidences and clinical characteristics of postoperative symptomatic VTE. The secondary outcomes were recurrent VTE, major bleeding and all-cause death.

Results: We identified 137 patients with postoperative symptomatic VTE, including 57 patients with pulmonary embolism. The incidences of postoperative symptomatic VTE and pulmonary embolism were 0.067% and 0.028%, respectively, based on data from 2 03 943 patients who underwent surgery, managed by anaesthesiologists, during the study period. The incidences of postoperative symptomatic VTE varied widely, depending on surgical and anaesthetic characteristics. Postoperative symptomatic VTE occurred at a median of 8 days after surgery, with 58 patients (42%) diagnosed within 7 days. The cumulative incidence, 30 days after VTE, of recurrent VTE, major bleeding, and all-cause death was 3.0%, 5.2%, and 3.7%, respectively.

Conclusion: This study, combining the large real-world VTE and anaesthesiology databases in Japan revealed the incidence, clinical features and prognosis of postoperative symptomatic VTE, providing useful insights for all healthcare providers involved in various surgeries.

Trial registration: Not applicable.

Keywords: deep vein thrombosis; postoperative; prognosis; pulmonary thromboembolism; venous thromboembolism.