Deep Vein Thrombosis in Elderly Patients following Surgery for Fracture of the Proximal Femur

Abstract

The incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is high in orthopaedic cases, associated with morbidity and mortality. This study was done to evaluate the incidence of DVT and factors that contributed to DVT in elderly patients with proximal femur fracture who underwent surgery. Patients 60 years of age and older with proximal femur fracture who underwent surgery were enrolled into this study. Daily observation of the clinical signs of DVT was done post operatively until the subjects were discharged from the hospital. D-Dimer test and contrast venography were carried out on Day 2 and between Days 4 and 7 after surgery. Results were interpreted as normal and obstruction. There were 42 eligible patients, 18 of them (42.86 %) were diagnosed with DVT. We found that positive D-Dimer test (1.40), longer duration of surgery (1.86), and presence of clinical symptoms (1.09) increased the risk of the occurence of thrombosis although not statistically significant. There were four DVT patients who passed away within 4 months after surgery due to complication from DVT. The incidence of DVT in elderly with proximal femur fracture underwent surgery was relatively high (42.86 %) with the mortality rate was 22%.