Prevalence of venous thromboembolism in patients with acetabular or hip fractures and their association with hemoglobin concentration

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with acetabular or hip fractures and the relationship between hemoglobin and VTE. Methods: The records of patients diagnosed with acetabular or hip fractures between 2009 and 2015 were reviewed. A 1:4 case–control study was conducted to determine the relationship between VTE and hemoglobin. In the “case” group, convenience sampling was used, including all the patients diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE). In the control group (n = 80), convenience sampling with age and gender matching was used. The prevalence of VTE was determined from the number of cases identified from 2009 to 2015 divided by the number of patients diagnosed with acetabular or hip fractures over the same period. Results: During the study period, 995 patients presented with acetabular or hip fractures. Four hundred and four patients had acetabular fractures, 20 (5%) of whom developed VTE, 11 (2.7%) were diagnosed with DVT alone, 7 (1.7%) with PE alone, and 2 (0.5%) with both DVT and PE. The prevalence of VTE following hip fracture was 3%, and the prevalence of DVT, PE, and both was 1.7%, 1%, and 0.5%, respectively. The mean hemoglobin concentration at admission was 11.7 ± 2.5 g/dl in patients with VTE and 12.3 ± 2.3 g/dl in controls (P = 0.45). Conclusion: The prevalence of VTE in patients with acetabular fracture was 5% and 3% with hip fracture. The present study showed no association between hemoglobin concentration at admission and VTE.