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Updated: Nov 10, 2025

Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Screening for Proximal Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis
Published on: February 10, 2023
INCIDENCE OF DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS IN FLOATING KNEE
Jonatas Brito DE Alencar1,2, Réjelos Charles Aguiar Lira1, Rafael DA Silva Cavalcante1
1Instituto Doutor José Frota, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
Objective:
To report the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in ipsilateral femur and tibial fractures (floating knee).
Methods:
This is a retrospective, analytical, observational study conducted with the medical records of thirty patients admitted to a trauma hospital between October 2016 and July 2017 with floating knee.
Results:
Patients aged between 21-30 years were the most affected by the condition (36%). Seventeen patients affected the dominant limb (57%); 19 (63%) patients were classified as Fraser type I, 18 (60%) had open (compound) fractures, 16 (53%) tibial fractures, and 8 (26%) femoral fractures. External fixation of the femur and tibia (25 patients = 83%) was the most common emergency treatment. In total, 17% of patients presented deep venous thrombosis (p = 0.409).
Conclusion:
Despite antithrombotic prophylaxis, the incidence of DVT in the affected limb of patients with floating knee was high. We found patients with Fraser I fractures, male, and with fractures in the non-dominant limb to present a higher chance of developing DVT. Level of Evidence III, Comparative retrospective study .
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