Venous thromboembolism in SARS-CoV-2 patients: only a problem in ventilated ICU patients, or is there more to it?

[摘要] Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a well-known complication in hospitalised patients [1–5]. Risk factors include older age, obesity, immobilisation, active malignancy, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), (major) surgery, thrombophilia and a history of thromboembolism [2, 5]. In 1884, Rudolph Virchow first described the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, which consist of endothelial cell dysfunction/ inflammation, low blood flow and blood hypercoagulability. Current guidelines recommend the use of thromboprophylaxis in acutely ill medical patients who are at high risk for VTE (Padua score ⩾4, IMPROVE (International Medical Prevention Registry on Venous Thromboembolism) score ⩾2) [6]. However, in medical practice, less than half of the patients at risk receive adequate thromboprophylaxis [4].

[学科分类] 呼吸医学