Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Pediatric Patients with Surgically Treated Lower-Extremity Fractures: A Propensity-Matched Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. Although rare in the general pediatric population, VTE remains a potential concern in hospitalized children, particularly those with lower-extremity (LE) fractures. With this study, we aimed to determine the risk of VTE in pediatric patients with surgically treated LE fractures through a retrospective, propensity-matched, cohort analysis.

METHODS

The TriNetX Research Network, encompassing data from >80 health-care organizations and >120 million patient records, was utilized for this retrospective cohort study comparing 3 age-based cohorts (children [age of <14 years], adolescents [age of 14 to 17 years], and adults [age of ≥18 years]) who underwent surgical treatment of LE fractures between January 1, 2003, and January 1, 2023.

RESULTS

A total of 634,880 patients with surgically treated LE fractures were included; 13.3% were children, 5.6% were adolescents, and 81.1% were adults. Propensity-score matching was used to compare VTE incidence across cohorts, resulting in 3 independent matched comparisons. Overall, the incidence of VTE (either DVT or PE) was 0.2% in children, 1.0% in adolescents, and 4.1% in adults. Adults had a significantly higher risk of developing DVT (risk ratio [RR]: 17.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.5 to 20.0) and PE (RR: 21.8; 95% CI: 17.0 to 28.1) compared with children. Similarly, adolescents had a higher risk of DVT (RR: 3.5; 95% CI: 2.7 to 4.4) and PE (RR: 3.1; 95% CI: 2.2 to 4.4) compared with children. The incidence of VTE varied by fracture location, with femoral and knee joint (incidence: 0.5% in children, 2.5% in adolescents) and pelvic and hip joint (incidence: 1.2% in children, 2.8% in adolescents) fractures presenting the highest risk across all age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of VTE in a large cohort of pediatric patients undergoing surgical treatment of LE fractures was higher in adolescents than in children. These findings may warrant prophylactic VTE measures in adolescents undergoing surgical treatment of femoral or pelvic fractures.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III . See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.