Venous Thromboembolism Events and Prophylaxis in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Conclusion: Our study identified a 20.4% incidence of VTE in AML patients, occurring more frequently during induction chemotherapy and in patients without prior thrombotic history.The clots were most commonly catheter associated and the highest rate of clot occurred with temporary internal jugular lines. Importantly, we found that when patients were treated with anticoagulation, their incidence of bleed did not exceed the general incidence of bleeding (43%) seen during the time period of the analysis. Average platelet count at VTE diagnosis was 61 K/µL, which is above most institutions' thresholds for use of pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis including patients with acute leukemia. Given that only two patients in our study were receiving prophylaxis at the time of VTE and that bleeding rates were similar with full therapeutic anticoagulation, this suggests prophylaxis is important, safe, and is potentially neglected in patients with acute leukemia. This highlights an area of potential improvement in decreasing VTE in patients that can safely receive prophylaxis and is the basis for future prospective safety trials exploring the use of prophylaxis in this patient population.DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Source: Blood - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: 332. Antithrombotic Therapy Source Type: research