• Masayuki Kuroiwa, Hitoshi Furuya, Norimasa Seo, Kiyoshi Morita, Muneyasu Sha, Yasuhide Iwao, Junji Sasaki, and Makoto Ito.
• Department of Anesthesiology, National Sagamihara Hospital, Sagamihara 228-8522.
• Masui. 2004 Apr 1;53(4):454-63.

BackgroundPerioperative pulmonary thromboembolism (preoperative PTE) is widely recognized as one of the life-threatening perioperative complications in Japan. However, incidence of perioperative PTE is not well surveyed. The Japanese Society of Anesthesiologist (JSA) mailed the questionnaire about incidence of perioperative PTE and its characteristics to the institutions registered in JSA.MethodsThe questionnaire was mailed to 844 institutions. The items of the survey included age, sex, type of surgery and risk factors of the cases performed in 2002. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and Fisher's test, and P < 0.05 was taken as significant.ResultsFour-hundred sixty-seven out of 844 institutions responded (55.3%) effectively. There were 369 cases of perioperative PTE in 208 institutions (44.5% of the institutions responded). The incidence of perioperative PTE was 4.4 per ten thousand cases. Massive PTE or cardiac arrest at the onset occurred in 57 cases (15.4%). Out of these patients, 117 patients (31.7%) had obesity, and bed-ridden rest (> 4 days) patients and cancer patients were each 105 (28.5%). Sixty-six patients died from perioperative PTE, out of which 5 patients (7.5%) died during operation, 31 patients (47.0%) died within 7 days after the operation, and 30 patients (45.5%) died 8 days after the operation. The commonest type of surgery among mortality cases was abdominal surgery (20 cases: 30.3%), and the commonest risk factor was being bedridden (34.5 cases: 51.5%). The patients who had developed PTE during surgery counted 64, among whom the major type of operation was lower limb/pelvic surgery (36 cases: 56.3%). Major risk factors were being bed-ridden in 25 cases (39.1%) and lower limb/pelvic fracture in 25 cases (39.1%). Despite having dangerous risk factors, 128 patients (57.7%) received the measures not recommended or did not receive any preventive measure for PTE.ConclusionsThis survey revealed that the incidence of perioperative PTE in Japan is considerable. On the ground that most PTE could be prevented, it is suggested that by employing preventive measures for PTE, the incidence of perioperative PTE will decrease.

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