The following is a summary of “Risk assessment scales to predict risk of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis among multiple trauma patients: a prospective cohort study,” published in the December 2023 issue of Emergency Medicine by Chen et al. 

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) represents a prevalent complication observed in orthopedic patients. While prior investigations predominantly centered around major orthopedic surgery, limited attention has been given to cases involving multiple trauma.

For a study, researchers aimed to delineate the incidence of DVT and assess the predictive efficacy of various risk assessment scales in the context of multiple trauma patients. In this 2021-2022 study on multiple trauma patients, thrombotic risk assessments (RAPT, DRAS, TESS) were analyzed via ROC curve and AUC. Whole leg duplex ultrasound determined DVT incidence. 

It involved 210 patients, where DVT incidence was 26.19%, with 87.27% being distal, 72.73% postoperative, and 30.91% bilateral. Significant distinctions in various factors were noted between thrombosis and non-thrombosis groups. RAPT, DRAS, and TESS had AUCs of 0.737, 0.710, and 0.683, respectively, without significant differences. 

The study underscored the relatively high in-hospital DVT incidence, validating predictive tests for enhanced clinical DVT prophylaxis in multiple trauma patients.

Source: bmcemergmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12873-023-00914-7