Abstract

Introduction: Venous thrombo-embolism (VTE), which consists of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, is a potentially fatal condition. According to Western literature, DVT of lower limb veins is one of the most common complications following surgeries for lower limb. Few studies have been published from India on the subject and little is known about the true incidence of the DVT. Complications of DVT carry high mortality and morbidity. Thus, it is important to understand every aspect of DVT for which it is advisable to determine incidence of DVT by using proper diagnostic tools which have high sensitivity and specificity.
Materials and Methods: A hospital based observational study was conducted in the department of orthopaedics after approval from the ethical committee. Data was collected from the admitted patients who were willing to take part in study according to selection criteria and willing to undergo colour Doppler evaluation for fractured lower limb. 42 subjects were included in the study. Pre-operative and post-operative venous colour Doppler was done on 5th post-op day for fractured lower limb.
Results: In the study there were 42 subjects, with average age of 51.12±20.09 years. There were 15 females and 27 males in the study. Post operatively 9 subjects had DVT. Incidence of DVT after major orthopaedic surgeries was observed as 21.4%. Diabetes, alcohol intake, smoking and obesity were independent risk factors for development of DVT.