Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis: A Bicentric Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Vascular Medicine
• Thrombosis Research
• Hospital-Acquired Complications

Background:

• Internal jugular vein thrombosis (IJVT) is a rare but serious complication in hospitalized patients.
• Central venous access devices (CVADs) are frequently associated with IJVT.
• Understanding IJVT's clinical characteristics and outcomes is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze clinical characteristics of newly diagnosed IJVT patients.
• To evaluate mortality, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding incidence at 30 days.
• To compare device-related versus non-device-related IJVT.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of adult inpatients diagnosed with IJVT (January-December 2024).
• Collected data on demographics, comorbidities, CVAD use, laboratory values (D-dimer, platelets, CRP), treatment, and outcomes.
• Performed sub-analysis for device-associated versus non-device-associated thrombosis.

Main Results:

• Thirty-one patients with IJVT were included; mean age 71.0 years, 54.8% female.
• Device-associated IJVT showed lower D-dimer, higher platelet counts, and elevated CRP compared to non-device-associated.
• Overall 30-day mortality was 16.1%, pulmonary embolism 16.1%, and bleeding 6.5%; CVAD use was not an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes.

Conclusions:

• IJVT associated with CVADs exhibits distinct biomarker profiles indicating lower fibrinolysis and higher inflammation.
• These differences may help refine diagnostic criteria and inform prophylactic strategies for IJVT.
• Further large-scale prospective studies are needed to validate these findings.