The Relationship Between Whole Blood Viscosity and Deep Vein Thrombosis

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between whole blood viscosity (WBV) and deep vein thrombosis. Material and Methods: In this study, 50 patients who applied to the cardiovascular surgery and cardiology policlinic and were diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis between January 2016 and January 2018 and additionally 44 healthy people were included in the study as a control group. The estimation of WBV was carried out at both high shear rate (HSR) (208/s) and low shear rate (LSR) (0.5/s) by previously validated formulate using hematocrit (HcT) and total protein (TP) in g/L. WBV at HSR (208/s) is: (0.12 × HcT) + 0.17 (TP-2.07) and WBV at LSR (0.5/s) is: (1.89 × HcT) + 3.76 (TP-78.42). The whole blood viscosity of deep vein thrombosis patients and of control group were compared at both HSR and LSR. Results: Age and gender distribution of the patients included in the study were similar. Hemoglobin, platelet count, and total protein were substantially higher in the group with deep vein thrombosis (p=0.04, p=0.002, p=0.022, respectively). Likewise, WBV of patients with deep vein thrombosis was substantially higher than the control group, at both low-shear rate and high-shear rate (P=0.023 for LSR and p=0.031 for HSR). A multivariate analysis showed that the whole blood viscosity for both shear rates were independent from the risk factors of deep vein thrombosis (WBV at LSR, OR=5.00; 95% CI, 2.037-12.269; P<0.001 and WBV at HSR, OR=1.068; 95% CI, 1.028-1.110; P=0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, whole blood viscosity is found out to be an important and independent risk factor in patients with deep vein thrombosis.