Deep venous thrombosis in patients with chronic spinal cord injury

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a serious complication after spinal cord injury (SCI), where blood clots form in the deep veins, usually in the legs. While it's known to be a risk soon after the injury, this study looks at how common DVT is in people with long-term SCI. The study found that DVT can still occur in patients with chronic SCI, especially within the first six months after the injury. This suggests that the risk of blood clots remains elevated for a longer period than just the initial few months after the injury. The researchers used ultrasound to check for DVT in patients who were more than three months post-SCI. They also looked at factors like age, injury severity, and whether the patients were taking blood thinners to see if these factors were related to DVT.

• 1
  DVT was diagnosed in 5 of the 63 patients with chronic SCI.
• 2
  Four of the five DVT cases occurred within the first 4-5 months post-injury, while one case occurred 42 months post-injury.
• 3
  Despite some patients receiving prolonged prophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), DVT was still diagnosed in some cases.