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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Deep vein thrombosis in patients with chronic kidney disease
H Leon Daneschvar1, Ali Seddighzadeh, Gregory Piazza
1Cardiovascular Medicine Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Insights
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients presents differently, often affecting the upper extremities. Prophylaxis rates for DVT remain low in CKD patients, necessitating new detection and prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Vascular Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a significant complication in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
- Understanding the distinct characteristics and risk factors of DVT in CKD patients is crucial for improved patient outcomes.
- CKD is defined as requiring dialysis or having nephrotic syndrome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To profile and compare deep vein thrombosis (DVT) patients with and without chronic kidney disease (CKD).
- To identify demographic, clinical, and presentation differences in DVT between CKD and non-CKD populations.
Main Methods:
- A comparative analysis of 268 CKD patients and 4,307 non-CKD patients from a prospective US multicenter DVT registry.
- CKD was defined by dialysis dependence or nephrotic syndrome.
- Demographic data, comorbidities, prior surgery, DVT location, symptoms, and prophylaxis rates were analyzed.
Main Results:
- CKD patients with DVT were younger, more often African-American and Hispanic, and had higher rates of prior surgery and congestive heart failure.
- Upper extremity DVT was significantly more frequent in CKD patients (30.0% vs. 10.8%).
- CKD patients presented less often with typical DVT symptoms like extremity discomfort and difficulty ambulating. Prophylaxis rates were low in both groups.
Conclusions:
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients exhibits unique epidemiological and clinical features compared to non-CKD patients.
- The higher incidence of upper extremity DVT and atypical presentations in CKD warrants further investigation.
- Low prophylaxis utilization in CKD patients highlights the need for enhanced DVT detection and prevention strategies in this vulnerable population.
Abstract:
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a poorly understood complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The objective of our analysis was to profile DVT patients with and without CKD. We defined CKD as patients requiring dialysis or patients having nephrotic syndrome. We compared 268 patients with CKD (184 patients with dialysis-dependent renal disease and 84 with nephrotic syndrome) to 4,307 patients with preserved renal function from a prospective United States multicenter deep venous thrombosis (DVT) registry. Compared with non-CKD patients, CKD patients with DVT were younger (median age 62 vs. 69 years, p < 0.0001), more often African-American (p < 0.0001), and more often Hispanic (p = 0.0003). CKD patients underwent surgery more frequently in the three months prior to developing DVT (48.9% vs. 39.0%, p = 0.001) and more often had concomitant congestive heart failure (20.9% vs. 14.6%, p = 0.005). CKD patients suffered upper extremity DVT more frequently (30.0% vs. 10.8%, p < 0.0001). Patients with CKD presented less often with typical DVT symptoms of extremity discomfort (42.9% vs. 52.4%, p = 0.003) and difficulty ambulating (5.4% vs. 10.1%, p = 0.01). Prophylaxis rates prior to DVT were similarly low in CKD and non-CKD patients (44.2% vs. 38.0%, p = 0.06). Future studies of DVT in CKD patients should explore novel strategies for improving prophylaxis utilization and the detection of DVT in this special population.
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