New research suggests that there may be a reduced likelihood of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in people who are at high risk of pulmonary embolism (PE).
The study was a retrospective analysis of DVT incidence in 392 patients who were treated for PE between August 2015 and November 2016 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in China. Patients were categorized into 3 risk levels (low, intermediate, or high) for PE based on characteristics at the time of PE diagnosis, according to 2014 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines. A goal of this study was to determine whether DVT incidence is linked to PE risk.
Approximately half of the patients (50.3%) were considered to be at low risk for PE by the ESC Guidelines, while 43.6% showed an intermediate risk, and 6.1% were at high risk. Overall, most patients (77.6%) showed evidence of coexisting DVT.
