Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with COVID‐19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to a hypercoagulable state known as COVID-19-associated coagulopathy (CAC), increasing the risk of “venous thromboembolic events (TEs) such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors, laboratory findings, and clinical outcomes of venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) in COVID-19 patients at Suez Canal University Hospital. Methods: This prospective observational study involved 150 patients, categorized into two groups: Group I (COVID-19 with TEs), and group II (non-COVID-19 with TEs) admitted to Suez Canal University Hospitals in Ismailia, Egypt, from March 2021 to March 2023. Results: Group I had significantly higher rates of diabetes (60%), obesity (69.3%), and ICU admission (42.7%) compared to other groups (p < 0.05). D-dimer levels > 9.4 μ/mL emerged as the strongest predictor of TEs (AUC = 0.999, sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 97.33%, p < 0.001), while fibrinogen demonstrated moderate predictive ability. Among interventions, 53.3% of group I and 56% of group II received anticoagulation. Despite anticoagulation, outcomes for COVID-19-associated TEs were poorer than for non-COVID-19 cases. Conclusions: Six parameters readily available at the time of admission were identified as risk factors for thromboembolic events, and these may be capable of stratifying the risk of in-hospital thromboembolic events, which are associated with in-hospital mortality, in patients with COVID-19 and CVDRF.