The incidence and risk factors of thromboembolism in patients with traumatic spine fractures in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Objectives: Traumatic spine injuries may lead to devastating outcomes. One of the most common causes of death in these patients is thromboembolism, more with those who have risk factors. This study aimed to find out the incidence and associated risk factors of thromboembolism in traumatic spine fractures. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all adult patients with traumatic spine fractures from 2007 to 2014 in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh. Significant differences in the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) in traumatic spinal fractures were looked for. Results: Out of 1128 patients with spine fractures, thromboembolism occurred in 73 (6.5%). In cervical spine fractures, DVT showed statistically significant association with the hospital length of stay, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and motor vehicle accidents. On the other hand, PE was significantly associated with low GCS and longer ICU and hospital stays. In patients with lumbar fractures, DVT was highly correlated with longer hospital stay and ICU length of stay, low GCS, and severe injury severity score, while PE was highly correlated with high weight and longer hospital and ICU stay. Nevertheless, thoracic spine fractures victims have no significant association with any studied factors. Conclusion: The incidence of thromboembolism was 6.5% in patients with spine fractures. A longer hospital and ICU stay were the main factors that were correlated with increased risk of thromboembolism in cervical and lumbar traumatic spine fractures. However, thoracic spine fractures had no association with any studied factors.