Thrombophilia as a predictor of persistent residual vein thrombosis

To compare the probability of leg vein recanalization between carriers and non-carriers of thrombophilia after an episode of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities, we reviewed the clinical records of 472 patients with proximal DVT who were diagnosed with thrombophilia, and had long-term ultrasound scanning. One hundred and thirty-seven patients (29.0%) were carriers of thrombophilia. After adjusting for age, sex, DVT localization and modality of presentation, the hazard ratio of vein recanalization in thrombophilic compared with non-thrombophilic patients was 0.49 (95% CI, 0.38 to 0.63). These findings suggest that thrombophilia is an independent predictor of persistent residual vein thrombosis.