Relationship between Deep Vein Thrombosis and Serial Chest CT Severity Scores in COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

Aim: We aimed to evaluate risk factors for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in lower extremities veins in COVID-19 patients and the relationship between DVT with chest CT severity scores (CT-SS). To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the relationship between the occurrence of DVT and serial chest CT-SS in COVID-19 patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 131 COVID-19 patients (≥18 years) admitted to our hospital. Two radiologists examined chest CT scans and calculated CT-SS using a visual scoring system. Color Doppler ultrasounds of lower extremity veins were performed for DVT. CT Pulmonary Angiographies (CTPA) were performed on patients clinically suspected of pulmonary embolism (PE). Results: A total of 131 patients were included in our study. 71/131 (54.2%) of the patients were male. 18/131 (13.7%) patients were treated in ICU and 18 (13.7%) patients died. 21/131 patients had DVT (16%) in their lower extremities. Chest CTA was performed in 44/131 (33.6%) patients and PE was detected in 10/44 patients (22.7%). PE was considerably more common in patients with DVT (p = 0.009). The occurrence of DVT was significantly associated with high first chest CT-SS (p=0.002). However, there was no association between the DVT and second and third CT-SS. Significant associations were found between the development of DVT with elevated serum D-Dimer, CRP and fibrinogen levels (p