Confirmed Thromboembolic Venous Disease and Clinical Probability Scores: A Transversal Study about 74 Cases Collected in the Cardiology Department of the Aristide Le Dantec University Hospital Center of Dakar

Abstract

Introduction: Venous thromboembolic disease (VTED), associating deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, represents a major public health issue. The objective of our work is to correlate confirmed VTED with clinical probability scores using elements of interview and clinical examination. Methods: This was a retrospective study from January 1, 2012 to October 27, 2013. Venous thromboembolic disease was diagnosed by lower limb venous Doppler ultrasound for deep vein thrombosis and thoracic CT angiography for pulmonary embolism. Results: Our series included 74 cases of venous thromboembolic disease including 42 cases of deep vein thrombosis and 29 cases of pulmonary embolism. The average age was 48.5 ± 15.9 years. The sex ratio was 0.72. The patients came from the outpatient clinic in 67.57% of cases. The Wells score for pulmonary embolism showed excellent performance in the “Surgery/Cancer” subgroup where the low probability was zero. The revised Geneva score for pulmonary embolism, showing the same proportions of low (14.2%) and intermediate (85.7%) probability, did not discriminate the subgroup of patients with underlying heart disease from the one from a surgical or carcinological environment. Conclusion: Clinical probability scores are more suitable in surgical and oncological settings than in medical settings.