Global Prevalence of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) was performed using five databases (PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus) from 2000 to March 2023. Observational descriptive studies investigating the prevalence of DVT among patients with SCI were included. Data were retrieved by author, country, continent, gender, age, sample source, and additional variables. Risk of bias was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Instrument for Studies Reporting Prevalence. Data and random-effects models were used to synthesize existing findings. Among 45 studies, the overall pooled estimated prevalence of DVT was 14.53% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.22 - 17.84%) in patients with SCI (n = 87,294), including 14.77% (95% CI, 11.19 - 18.35%) in patients with acute SCI and 19.02% (95% CI, 11.51 - 26.53%) in patients with SCI older than 18 years. A total of 26 studies from hospitals showed that the combined prevalence estimate of DVT in patients with SCI was 16.41% (95% CI, 11.36 - 21.45%), and in 19 studies from rehabilitation institutions was 12.33% (95% CI, 8.25 - 16.42%). Moreover, the prevalence of DVT in patients with SCI is influenced by factors such as regional distribution, demographic characteristics, the extent of nerve damage, the level of the lesion, and the implementation of thromboprophylaxis. We estimated the overall pooled prevalence of DVT after SCI in distinctive characteristics. These findings can provide a reference for future epidemiological studies of DVT in patients with SCI. Given the substantial variety of the included studies (e.g., diagnostic methodologies, demographic characteristics), our results should be interpreted with caution.