Observational study: prospective longitudinal cohort (Green)
Thrombosis and pulmonary embolism appear to be major causes of mortality in hospitalised coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. However, few studies have focused on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after hospitalisation for COVID-19. In this multi-centre study, the authors followed 1529 COVID-19 patients for at least 45 days after hospital discharge, who underwent routine telephone follow-up. In case of signs or symptoms of pulmonary embolism (PE) or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), they were invited for an in-hospital visit with a pulmonologist. The primary outcome was symptomatic VTE within 45 days of hospital discharge. Of 1529 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital, a total of 228 (14.9%) reported potential signs or symptoms of PE or DVT and were seen for an in-hospital visit. Of these, 13 and 12 received Doppler ultrasounds or pulmonary CT angiography, respectively, of whom only one patient was diagnosed with symptomatic PE. Of 51 (3.3%) patients who died after discharge, two deaths were attributed to VTE corresponding to a 45-day cumulative rate of symptomatic VTE of 0.2% (95%CI 0.1%-0.6%; n = 3). There was no evidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in these patients. Other deaths after hospital discharge included myocardial infarction (n = 13), heart failure (n = 9), and stroke (n = 9). The authors concluded that they did not observe a high rate of symptomatic VTE in COVID-19 patients after hospital discharge. Routine extended thromboprophylaxis after hospitalisation for COVID-19 may not have a net clinical benefit. Randomised trials may be warranted.
doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2020.12.001
