The Approach to Venous Thromboembolism Prevention During Large Disaster Medicine of the Japanese Society of Phlebology Disaster Countermeasures Committee

The incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) increases following major natural disasters, especially earthquakes. Japan is susceptible to frequent earthquakes and mass casualties. Disaster associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been widely recognized since 2004, when many DVTs and PE-related deaths were noted following the Mid-Niigata Prefecture Earthquake due to poor evacuation shelter conditions, forcing many evacuees to camp in vehicles. Given this background, the Japanese Society of Phlebology (JSP) established the Disaster Countermeasures Committee (DCC) for the prevention and early detection of VTE during natural disasters.