Prevalence and Predictors of Preoperative Venous Thromboembolism in Asymptomatic Patients Undergoing Major Oncologic Surgery

Background: Postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of in-hospital mortality for cancer patients; however, the prevalence of preoperative VTE remains unclear. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with preoperative VTE in asymptomatic patients undergoing major oncologic surgery. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 346 patients identified from our prospectively maintained database of patients undergoing abdominopelvic oncologic surgery from 2009 to 2016. Results: The prevalence of preoperative VTE found on screening venous duplex scan was 10.1%. Patients with a history of prior VTE were more likely to have a preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) versus those with no prior VTE (42.9% vs. 4.5%, p < 0.01). Relative risk for prior VTE was 8.2 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.7–14.3]. Older age was also associated with preoperative VTE. Regression modeling determined that patients were 1.24-fold as likely to have a preoperative DVT for every 5-year increase in age (relative risk 1.24, 95% CI 1.09–1.42). Patients with preoperative DVT were more likely to have been diagnosed with sepsis 1 month prior to surgery (8.6% vs. 1.6%, p = 0.04). There were no postoperative pulmonary emboli. The overall postoperative complication rate was higher in those with a preoperative DVT (25.7% vs. 13.2%, p = 0.071). Conclusion: Asymptomatic patients undergoing major oncologic surgery have a 10.1% prevalence of preoperative DVT. Increasing age, recent diagnosis of sepsis, and a history of prior VTE are significantly associated with preoperative DVTs. This suggests high-risk oncologic patients may benefit from screening lower extremity venous duplex ultrasound prior to Surgery.