Venous thromboembolism after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and the status quo of anticoagulation in this population: A retrospective case-control study from a tertiary hospital in China

Objective: Patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) are susceptible to venous thromboembolism (VTE) including pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) due to a variety of risk factors. There are few studies regarding the predictive value of D-dimer for VTE in patients with sICH, and the anticoagulation therapy for these patients are still controversial. The objective of this study is to study the independent predictors of VTE in sICH patients. The rates of anticoagulation therapy and hemorrhagic evens were also investigated.Methods: Retrospective review of patients with sICH admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from 2012 to 2022 and who developed VTE (PE and/or DVT) during hospitalization. A similar number of sICH patients without VTE were randomly selected into the control group. A variety of clinical characteristics were compared between groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of VTE in patients with sICH.Results: A total of 270 sICH patients were enrolled in this study, including 132 patients with VTE and 138 patients without VTE. After adjusting for other confounders, the maximum level of D-dimer during hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] 1.061, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.014-1.110), Glasgow coma scale (GCS) on admission (OR 1.347, 95 % CI 1.110-1.634), modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge (OR 2.578, 95 % CI 1.546-4.298), neutrophil count (OR 1.056, 95 % CI 1.025-1.088) and hospitalization time (OR 1.089, 95 % CI 1.018-1.164) were independently associated with the sICH patients who developed VTE. The maximum D-dimer plasma level of 5.655 mg/L during hospitalization was the optimal threshold to indicate sICH patients developing VTE with a sensitivity of 83.3 % and a specificity of 67.4 %. No patients with sICH received prophylactic anticoagulation therapy against VTE in the present study. A total of 57.6 % (76/132) of the sICH patients with VTE were administered anticoagulant therapy and the rate of hemorrhagic complication was 9.2 %.Conclusions: sICH patients with increased levels of D-dimer, higher GCS scores, higher mRS scores, increased neutrophil counts and longer hospitalization time are more likely to develop VTE complications. Routine and serial monitoring of the D-dimer values may be useful in patients with sICH, and VTE should be considered when the plasma level of D-dimer increases to 5.655 mg/L during hospitalization. In tertiary hospitals in China, the rate of sICH patients with VTE receiving anticoagulation treatment is low. Further studies are necessary to explore the safety and efficacy of VTE therapeutic anticoagulation in patients with sICH.