Venous thrombosis in diabetes mellitus

Area of Science:

• Vascular Medicine
• Diabetology
• Thrombosis Research

Background:

• Diabetes mellitus is associated with microvascular and macrovascular complications.
• A generalized thrombotic tendency has been hypothesized as a potential mechanism for these complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in diabetic patients.
• To determine if diabetes is associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study comparing 60 diabetic patients with 60 matched controls.
• Isotopic detection of calf and popliteal vein thrombosis using 125I-fibrinogen scans over 7 days.

Main Results:

• The incidence of positive 125I-fibrinogen scans was 21 in diabetic patients and 19 in control subjects.
• This difference in DVT incidence between diabetic patients and controls was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Diabetes is not associated with an enhanced risk of deep vein thrombosis.
• The arterial and capillary abnormalities in diabetes may stem from mechanisms independent of a generalized thrombotic tendency.