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Venous thromboembolism with chronic liver disease
Tarek Saleh1, Fadi Matta, Fadi Alali
1Department of Internal Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Mich., USA.
The American Journal of Medicine
|December 29, 2010
Summary
Hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, have a low prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE). This suggests underlying protective antithrombotic mechanisms in these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Thrombosis Research
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Patients with chronic liver disease exhibit complex coagulation abnormalities, presenting both antithrombotic and prothrombotic tendencies.
- Existing literature presents conflicting data regarding the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in this patient population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the prevalence of VTE in hospitalized patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease versus chronic nonalcoholic liver disease.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey (1979-2006) for US hospitalized patients.
- Analyzed diagnostic codes to identify cases of chronic alcoholic and chronic nonalcoholic liver disease.
- Compared the prevalence of VTE between the two groups.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of VTE was low in both groups: 0.6% in chronic alcoholic liver disease and 0.9% in chronic nonalcoholic liver disease.
- A slightly higher VTE prevalence was observed in nonalcoholic liver disease, but the difference was not clinically significant.
Conclusions:
- Hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease (alcoholic and nonalcoholic) demonstrate a low overall prevalence of VTE.
- These findings suggest the presence of protective antithrombotic mechanisms in chronic liver disease, warranting further investigation into their differing pathways.
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