Prevalence of venous thromboembolism and associated factors in COVID-19 patients at a provincial public hospital in southern Brazil

Background COVID-19 is a predominantly respiratory disease, but it also has a strong association with thromboembolism, especially among hospitalized patients. Objectives To evaluate the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and associated factors in patients with COVID-19 in a public hospital in the interior of South Brazil. Methods A retrospective, cross-sectional observational study was carried out by analyzing data from medical records. The VTE outcome was a composite of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Associations were analyzed by logistic regression and bivariate analyses using Pearson’s chi-square test. Results The sample comprised 964 patients. 56% were male and 44% female, with a mean age of 58.2 ± 15.1 years. 70% of patients were admitted to the ICU, 44.4% died, 97% required oxygen, and 63.7% required intubation. After adjusted analysis, the factors intubation (p=0.02) and prophylactic anticoagulation (p<0.001) were associated with VTE. The following variables were shown to be important risk factors for VTE: intubation (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.8, p=0.020) and excess weight (OR 3.3; 95% CI 0.2-2.2, p=0.02), while prophylactic anticoagulation showed a small protective factor (OR 0.02; 95% CI 0.01-0.04, p<0.001). Conclusions The results demonstrate how COVID-19, together with several other associated factors, especially intubation, excess weight, and use of anticoagulants, may be related to thromboembolism as risk factors and protective factors. Prophylactic anticoagulation, in particular, was a protective factor.