[Incidence of venous thromboembolism in men admitted to a pneumology unit for acute respiratory disease].

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major source of morbidity and mortality all over the world. It is one of the complications arising in a hospital environment. The main aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of VTE in respiratory inpatients.

METHOD: The authors carried out a prospective study on acute respiratory disease inpatients. A medical analytical index card was used. An echo-venous Doppler of lower limbs was practiced on D1 and D10 of hospitalization. The Wells scored was used to estimate the clinical probability of the occurrence of VTE.

RESULTS: Seven of 100 patients studied developed VTE (95% CI : 2-12%), four of which presented a pulmonary embolism. The patients with VTE are 60-years-old±11.67. The incidence of VTE includes 20% (95% CI : 12.2-27.8%) of the patients hospitalized for bronchial cancer, 7.14% (95% CI : 2.1-12.18) of the patients presenting pulmonary tuberculosis and 4.54% (95% CI : 0.46-8.62%) of the patients hospitalized for exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The duration of hospitalization was prolonged for the treatment of VTE (21±4.41 days for these patients compared with 12±5 days in the absence of VTE (P<0.001)). The analysis of the various risk factors shows that a Performance Status>2 (P=0.005) and lung cancer (P=0.028) are the factors most incriminated in the occurrence of VTE. It is associated with a mortality of 2%.

CONCLUSION: VTE is a reality which is necessary to prevent in respiratory inpatients in situations at risk, especially in patients with lung cancer and with a PS>2.