Incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis after Major Lower Limb Orthopedic Surgery: Analysis of a Nationwide Claim Registry

• Published in: Yonsei medical journal Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 139 - 145
• Main Authors: Lee, Seung Yeol, Ro, Du Hyun, Chung, Chin Youb, Lee, Kyoung Min, Kwon, Soon-Sun, Sung, Ki Hyuk, Park, Moon Seok
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Yonsei University College of Medicine 01.01.2015; 연세대학교의과대학
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Leg - surgery; Male; Middle Aged; Original; Orthopedic Procedures - adverse effects; Postoperative Complications - epidemiology; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Registries - statistics & numerical data; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Venous Thrombosis - epidemiology; Venous Thrombosis - etiology; Young Adult; 의학일반; Republic of Korea; Deep vein thrombosis; knee arthroplasty; hip fracture surgery; hip arthroplasty; incidence
• ISSN: 0513-5796; 1976-2437; 1976-2437
• DOI: 10.3349/ymj.2015.56.1.139

We aimed to evaluate the nationwide incidence and risk factors for symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after major lower limb orthopedic surgeries. The Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database was used to retrospectively identify International Classification of Disease-10 codes for DVT and operation codes representing hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, and hip fracture surgeries. The age- and gender-adjusted annual incidence of DVT, rates of major lower limb orthopedic surgeries, and the postoperative incidence of DVT according to the surgical procedure were assessed. The age- and gender-adjusted annual incidence of DVT was 70.67 per 100000 persons/year. Compared to patients aged <49 years, the relative risk of DVT was five times higher in patients aged 50-69 and 10 times higher in patients aged >70 years (p<0.001). Females showed a greater relative risk for DVT than males (1.08; p<0.001). The incidence of postoperative DVT, according to the type of surgery, was significantly greater for knee replacement arthroplasty than for other forms of surgery (p<0.002). The relative risk of postoperative DVT was higher in females in knee replacement arthroplasty (1.47) and hip fracture surgery (2.25) groups, although relatively lower in those who underwent hip replacement arthroplasty (0.97). Among major lower limb surgeries, advanced age, female gender, and undergoing a knee replacement arthroplasty were found to be risk factors for developing postoperative DVT. These findings further emphasize the need for orthopedic surgeons to consider the development of DVT after surgery in high-risk patients.