• Rashmi Srivastava, Rizwana Parveen, Pinki Mishra, Nilanjan Saha, Ram Bajpai, and Nidhi Bharal Agarwal.
• Centre for Translational and Clinical Research, School of Chemical & Life Sciences, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2021 Dec 1; 75 (12): e14910.

PurposeCoronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) may predispose to venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial thromboembolism because of excessive inflammation, hypoxia, immobilisation and diffuse intravascular coagulation. The understanding of the association might be helpful in early vigilant monitoring and better management of COVID-19 patients at high risk. Thus, in this meta-analysis, we aim to assess the association of VTE with the severity of COVID-19 disease.MethodsA literature search was conducted on PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials using the keywords "COVID-19 and thromboembolism" and "COVID-19 and embolism," till 20 February 2021. Thirteen studies including 6648 COVID-19 patients were incorporated in this systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis.ResultsThe analysis revealed nearly three times more risk than intensive care unit (ICU) care in patients with VTE compared to non-VTE patients (RR: 2.78; 95% CI: 1.75-4.39; P < .001; I2 : 65.1%). Patients with pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis are at increased risk of being admitted to ICU (RR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.86-2.61; P < .001; I2 : 41.2%) and (RR: 2.69; 95% CI: 2.37-3.06; P < .001; I2 : 0.0%), respectively. The quality assessment indicated that the included studies were of fair quality.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that VTE either deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism may have a negative effect on the health status of COVID-19 patients. This study highlights the need to consider measures for reducing thromboembolism risk amongst COVID-19 patients.© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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