Overview of Venous Thrombosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Thrombosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an increasingly noted extraintestinal manifestation with high morbidity and mortality. While controlling the activity of the disease with the appropriate therapy, thromboembolism prophylaxis should be applied to all patients. All common risk factors for thromboembolism are also valid for patients with IBD; however, it is clear that uncontrolled disease and hospitalization are major disease-specific risk factors for venous thromboembolism in patients with IBD. Pharmacological thromboprophylaxis with currently available anticoagulants does not increase the risk of further bleeding in patients with IBD with mild-to-moderate bleeding. In severe bleeding or with increased risk of further bleeding due to other comorbid conditions, thromboprophylaxy with mechanical methods should be the treatment option. Whether thrombosis is the cause or the result of intestinal inflammation remains to be elucidated, and other issues in the etiology, such as the role of intestinal flora in thrombosis pathogenesis, will be the subject of future studies.