title: Is deep vein thrombosis a good proxy for pulmonary embolus?
abstract: It is assumed that prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is likely to lead to a reduction in the incidence of pulmonary embolus (PE). This study examines the association between symptomatic DVT and PE in patients undergoing orthopedic procedures. We reviewed medical records of 1495 patients who underwent evaluation for DVT or PE within 90 days of an index orthopedic procedure at our institution between 2004 and 2008. Only 27 cases were positive for both DVT and PE (1.7% of the total cohort, 10.8% of cases scanned for both DVT and PE). Tests of association, performed across the entire cohort and within specific subsets of patients, did not demonstrate that patients were more likely to have both DVT and PE than to have either DVT or PE. The high association between DVT and PE that is assumed to exist does not seem to hold true for orthopedic surgery patients.
authors.affiliation: Rothman Institute of Orthopedics at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parvizi
authors.forename: Christina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jacovides
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bican
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Purtill
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Sharkey
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hozack
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Rothman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult