Venous thromboembolism in the management of patients with musculoskeletal tumor

• Published in: Journal of orthopaedic science : official journal of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association 2010-11, Vol.15 (6), p.810-815
• Main Authors: Morii, Takeshi, Mochizuki, Kazuo, Tajima, Takashi, Aoyagi, Takayuki, Satomi, Kazuhiko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bone Neoplasms - blood; Bone Neoplasms - complications; Bone Neoplasms - pathology; Child; Cohort Studies; Female; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products - metabolism; Humans; Incidence; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Muscle Neoplasms - blood; Muscle Neoplasms - complications; Muscle Neoplasms - pathology; Original Article; Orthopedics; Retrospective Studies; Rheumatology; Risk Factors; Venous Thromboembolism - blood; Venous Thromboembolism - diagnosis; Venous Thromboembolism - epidemiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0949-2658; 1436-2023
• DOI: 10.1007/s00776-010-1539-0

Although patients with musculoskeletal tumors are at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), few detailed studies on the incidence, clinical course, and risk factors of this condition have been reported. A total of 299 patients with musculoskeletal tumors during the preceding 3 years were enrolled. D-dimer (DD) levels on admission and on postoperative days 1, 7, and 14 were routinely assessed. For patients who were receiving chemotherapy, an examination was performed every 2-3 days for the survey. Multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) was used for the detection of VTE in patients with DD levels > 10 μg/ml. The incidence of clinically detected VTE and the clinical courses of the patients with VTE were reviewed. The risk factors for VTE were analyzed. For statistical analysis, Fisher’s exact test, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and logistic regression were used. VTE was detected in eight cases (2.7%). Six cases were detected postoperatively, and the remaining two cases were detected during chemotherapy. Pulmonary embolism was evident in four cases. No VTE-related lethal events were detected during the study period. In the univariate analysis, malignancy (P = 0.003), chemotherapy (P = 0.004), plastic surgery (P = 0.006), tumor size (P = 0.008), and elevated DD levels at admission (P = 0.03) were found to be significant risk factors for VTE. Among these factors, the multivariate analysis indicated that tumor size (P = 0.00 006), plastic surgery (P 0. 01), and chemotherapy (P = 0.02) were independent risk factors. The incidence and risk factors for VTE in the management of musculoskeletal tumor patients by screening DD levels combined with MDCT were analyzed. For patients at risk, prospective surveys for VTE should be considered in the future.