Prevalence of deep vein thrombosis in acute stroke in Government Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital

Introduction: Venous thrombo embolism (VTE) is a frequent cause of preventable illness and death in hospitalized patients. 25% of all cases of venous thrombo embolism are associated with hospitalization and 50 to 75% of cases of VTE in hospitalized patients occur on those in medical wards. Aim of the Study: Prevalence of Deep vein thrombosis in patients admitted with acute stroke. The need for routine anticoagulation for prophylaxis against DVT in acute stroke patients. Materials and methods: Out of 145 patients enrolled for the study after applying the exclusion criteria 50 patients were selected for duplex ultrasonography of lower limb venous system. Results: In our study the prevalence of DVT in acute stroke was analyzed by ultrasound venous Doppler of lower limbs. The analysis of co morbid conditions like diabetes, systemic hypertension, ischemic heart disease, smoking and alcoholism were analyzed to find out if there was any association between their presence and occurrence of DVT. In all these parameters compared within the group of DVT positive patients the p value was more than 0.05 which is statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The prevalence of DVT in acute stroke patients in our hospital group was 6% which is significantly less than that observed in western population. Duplex USG is a useful tool which can be used as a screening tool for early diagnosis of DVT. DVT occurs more commonly in paralyzed limb than non paralyzed limb.