• Alexandra M Roch, Thomas K Maatman, Rose A Carr, Cameron L Colgate, Eugene P Ceppa, Michael G House, James Lopes, Attila Nakeeb, C Max Schmidt, and Nicholas J Zyromski.
• Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, 545 Barnhill Drive EH 519, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
• J. Gastrointest. Surg. 2019 Dec 1; 23 (12): 2430-2438.

BackgroundNecrotizing pancreatitis (NP) is a severe systemic inflammatory process. We have observed a high incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in NP patients. However, remarkably few data exist to document the true incidence of VTE-including splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT), extremity deep venous thrombosis (eDVT), and pulmonary embolism (PE)-in NP. Therefore, we sought to determine the incidence and risk factors for VTE in NP patients.MethodsRetrospective review of all NP patients treated at a single academic center between 2005 and 2015. VTE diagnosis was confirmed by ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and/or ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan. Descriptive statistics and univariate analysis were applied where appropriate; p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsFive hundred and forty-five NP patients (median age 53 years; 65% males) were reviewed. VTE was diagnosed in 312 patients (57%). SVT was found in 50%, eDVT in 16%, and PE in 6%. VTE in multiple sites was found in 22% of patients. VTE was diagnosed a median of 37 days following pancreatitis diagnosis. Seventy-nine percent of patients required at least one surgical procedure over the course of their NP. Patients requiring surgery had a DVT incidence of 58%; however, VTE was diagnosed preoperatively in 63%. Male gender, history of previous DVT, infected necrosis, development of organ failure, and development of respiratory failure were identified as risk factors for VTE (p = 0.001-0.04) by univariate analysis.ConclusionsVenous thromboembolism is extremely common in necrotizing pancreatitis. Regular ultrasound screening may be considered to facilitate early diagnosis in this extremely high-risk population.

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