Relation of Venous Thromboembolism Risk to Ischemic Stroke Risk in Hospitalized Patients with Cancer

The Risk of Venous Thromboembolism and Ischemic Stroke Stratified by VTE Risk Following Multiple Myeloma: A Korean Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, with elevated rates of arterial thrombosis and venous thromboembolism (VTE) and ischemic stroke (IS). We aimed to estimate the incidence of VTE and IS categorized by the VTE risk grade among individuals with MM in Korea. Additionally, we explored the potential of the IMPEDE VTE score as a tool for assessing IS risk in patients with MM. Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised 37,168 individuals aged ≥ 18 years newly diagnosed with MM between January 2008 and December 2021 using the representative claims database of the Korean population. The risk of the incidence of VTE and IS within 6 months after MM diagnosis was stratified based on high-risk (IMPEDE VTE score ≥ 8) and low-risk (<8) categories. The hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. Results: The VTE incidence was 120.4 per 1000 person-years and IS incidence was 149.3 per 1000 person-years. Statistically significant differences were observed in the cumulative incidence rates of VTE between groups with high and low VTE scores (p < 0.001) and between individuals aged ≤ 65 years (p < 0.001) and those with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) ≥ 3 compared to lower scores (p < 0.001). Additionally, the cumulative incidence rate of IS differed significantly across all groups (p < 0.001). The HR for the high-risk group in VTE and IS occurrence was 1.59 (95% CI, 1.26-2.00) and 3.47 (95% CI, 2.99-4.02), respectively. Conclusions: It is important to screen and manage high-risk groups for the early development of VTE or IS in patients with newly diagnosed MM.

Nomogram for Risk of Secondary Venous Thromboembolism in Stroke Patients: A Study Based on the MIMIC-IV Database

This study aims to identify risk factors for secondary venous thromboembolism (VTE) in stroke patients and establish a nomogram, an accurate predictor of probability of VTE occurrence during hospitalization in stroke patients. Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database of critical care medicine was utilized to retrieve information of stroke patients admitted to the hospital between 2008 and 2019. Patients were randomly allocated into train set and test set at 7:3. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for secondary VTE in stroke patients. A predictive nomogram model was constructed, and the predictive ability of the nomogram was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). This study included 266 stroke patients, with 26 patients suffering secondary VTE after stroke. A nomogram for predicting risk of secondary VTE in stroke patients was built according to pulmonary infection, partial thromboplastin time (PTT), log-formed D-dimer, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH). Area under the curve (AUC) of the predictive model nomogram was 0.880 and 0.878 in the train and test sets, respectively. The calibration curve was near the diagonal, and DCA curve presented positive net benefit. This indicates the model's good predictive performance and clinical utility. The nomogram effectively predicts the risk probability of secondary VTE in stroke patients, aiding clinicians in early identification and personalized treatment of stroke patients at risk of developing secondary VTE.

Venous thromboembolism-related genetic determinant F11 rs4253417 is a potential prognostic factor in ischaemic stroke

Ischaemic stroke (IS) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) are two forms of thromboembolism that, although distinct, seem to share numerous risk factors. Concerning genetic risk factors, while many VTE genetic markers have been reported, inclusively by genome-wide association studies (GWAS), the identification and validation of genetic determinants underlying IS pathogenesis have been challenging. Considering that IS and VTE shared biological pathways and aetiological factors, the severity of IS might be also influenced by VTE-related genetic variants. Thus, the present study was designed to analyse the impact of six VTE GWAS-identified genetic variants on the clinical outcome of 363 acute IS patients. Results revealed that the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) F11 rs4253417 was an independent predictor of the 5-year risk of death among patients with total anterior circulation infarct (TACI). Namely, the ones carrying the SNP C allele presented a fourfold increase in the 5-year risk of death compared to TT genotype carriers (CC/CT vs. TT; adjusted HR, 4.240; 95% CI, 1.260-14.270; P = 0.020). This SNP is known to be associated with coagulation factor XI (FXI) levels, thus with implications in haemostasis and inflammation. As such, F11 rs4253417 might be a promising prognostic biomarker among TACI patients to aid in clinical decision-making. However, additional investigation is required to confirm the study's results and dissect the underlying mechanisms.

Prevalence of preoperative Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) following elderly intertrochanteric fractures and development of a risk prediction model

Background

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of preoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) following intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly and identify the associated factors, based on which a risk prediction model was developed.

Method

This was a retrospective single-center study of elderly patients presenting with intertrochanteric fractures between our institution between January 2017 and December 2020. Patients' duplex ultrasound (DUS) or venography results were retrieved to evaluate whether they had a preoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of bilateral extremities, whereby patients were dichotomized. Various variables of interest on demographics, comorbidities, injury and biomarkers were extracted and their relationship between DVT were investigated. Statistically significant variables tested in multivariate logistics regression analyses were used to develop a risk prediction model.

Results

There were 855 patients eligible to be included in this study, and 105 were found to have preoperative DVT, with a prevalence rate of 12.3%. Ten factors were tested as significantly different and 2 marginally significant between DVT and non-DVT groups in the univariate analyses, but only 6 demonstrated the independent effect on DVT occurrence, including history of a VTE event (OR, 4.43; 95%CI, 2.04 to 9.62), time from injury to DVT screening (OR, 1.19; 95%CI, 1.13 to 1.25), BMI (OR, 1.11; 95%CI, 1.04–1.18), peripheral vascular disease (OR, 2.66; 95%CI, 1.10 to 6.40), reduced albumin (2.35; 95%CI, 1.48 to 3.71) and D-Dimer > 1.0 mg/L(OR, 1.90; 95%CI, 1.13 to 3.20). The DVT risk model showed an AUC of 0.780 (95%CI, 0.731 to 0.829), with a sensitivity of 0.667 and a specificity of 0.777.

Conclusion

Despite without a so high prevalence rate of DVT in a general population with intertrochanteric fracture, particular attention should be paid to those involved in the associated risk factors above. The risk prediction model exhibited the improved specificity, but its validity required further studies to verify.