Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be the third leading cause of death by 2020. Recent studies reveal that pulmonary embolism (PE) may be a trigger of acute deterioration in patients with COPD. Patients with COPD have approximately twice the risk of PE than those without COPD.
OBJECTIVE:
The primary objective was to assess the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AE-COPD) in India.
METHODS:
We conducted this prospective study on patients admitted for AE-COPD in a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India. We considered the prevalence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) to reflect the occurrence of VTE. The screening tool used was a colour Doppler of the bilateral lower limbs.
RESULTS:
One hundred patients enrolled, were in stage II to stage IV COPD; 9% had DVT. Eight of these nine patients had unilateral DVT. Two patients had developed PE and died.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our results show a lower prevalence of unsuspected DVT in Indian patients admitted for AE-COPD. Future prospective, randomised studies are needed to confirm the findings of the present study and to determine whether a systematic evaluation for VTE is justified in these patients, and hence, be recommended.
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