Assistant Professor and PhD student School of Pharmacy Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Background: COVID-19 predisposes patients to VTE diseases due to excessive inflammation, hypoxia, immobilization, diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC), and pulmonary thrombotic microangiopathy. VTE prevalence in the range of 20–70 % was documented in COVID-19 patients in studies conducted elsewhere. Furthermore, COVID-19 patients who developed VTE were at higher risk of developing complications and death than those who did not have the disease.
Objectives: To evaluate venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk, incidence, and its management in hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among 146 COVID-19 patients admitted to Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The modified Caprini Risk Score was used to assess the risk of VTE risk by using the modified Caprini Risk Score in COVID-19. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Review Board of the School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia (ERB/302/13/2021).
Results: Out of 146 patients included in the study, 84 (57.53%) were males aged between 18 and 89 (mean 45.56 ± 18.17) years. Diabetes mellitus (21.92%), hypertension (19.86%), and cancer (19.18%) were major diagnoses of COVID-19 patients. More than one-third of patients (69.2%) had a ≥ 5VTE risk score of developing VTE with a mean score of 3.63 ± 0.60. The frequently observed VTE risk factors were symptomatic COVID-19 (88.40%), serious lung diseases (56.2%), and age > 40 years (52.10%). Thromboprophylaxis was prescribed only for 98 (67.12%) patients. The incidence of VTE was 15.75% and majorly (91.3%) occurred in the highest VTE risk (≥ 5 scores) patients.
Conclusions: All patients with COVID-19 were at risk of developing VTE with low utilization of thromboprophylaxis. The incidence of VTE was high and majorly occurred in patients that didn’t receive prophylaxis.
