Vein wall remodeling in patients with acute deep vein thrombosis and chronic postthrombotic changes

Introduction: A few studies have investigated venous wall remodeling after venous thrombosis by using rodent models. Such information is lacking in humans. This study was designed to determine the acute and chronic effects of thrombus on the vein wall. Methods: Patients aged > 16 years with deep vein thrombosis diagnosed by duplex ultrasound were assessed by the use of case-control methodology. Those with recurring thrombotic episodes, cardiorespiratory disease, terminal cancer, morbid obesity, penetrating trauma or significant inflammation were excluded. High-resolution ultrasound was employed to determine wall thickness, with strict quality criteria and inclusion of only technically adequate ultrasound images. Results: Data were collected from patients with acute thrombosis (35), patients with chronic postthrombotic changes (15), and unaffected controls (32), with 853 total vein segments being analyzed. As compared with controls (mean 0.37 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.37-0.38 mm), venous wall thickness was increased in acute (mean 0.63 mm; 95% CI 0.61 0.64 mm) and postthrombotic (mean 0.85 mm; 95% CI 0.80-0.91 mm) venous segments. Ipsilateral, contralateral and unaffected control vein segments were not different. Ipsilateral segments were thicker than controls in postthrombotic syndrome (PTS) patients, but not in acute patients. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated small impacts of age and sex on vein wall thickness. Conclusions: Wall thickness increases in all lower-tcglimb venous segments of patients with acute and postthrombotic disease. Age and sex may affect wall thickness, although further investigation is required to clarify their impact. The equivalence of ipsilateral and unaffected control segments suggests that acute vein wall remodeling is mediated through direct interaction with the thrombus, whereas remodeling in PTS patients may be affected by other factors.