25-06-2020 by Mirai
French researchers highlight a very high risk of phlebitis in patients with severe forms of Covid-19, intubated and ventilated.
We already know that Covid-19 can cause complications, including the appearance of blood clots. It is for this reason that anticoagulant therapy can be administered to hospitalized patients.
A new study by French researchers confirms this risk and highlights the high number of patients with severe form of Covid-19 affected by deep vein thrombosis. Also called phlebitis, this cardiovascular disorder is characterized by the formation of a blood clot in a vein that can lead to a pulmonary embolism.
Almost half of the patients with phlebitis.
For the purposes of this investigation, conducted by a team at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the researchers followed 56 patients who were intubated and ventilated due to pneumonia due to Covid-19. All were receiving preventive anticoagulant therapy and had also undergone two dopplers a few days apart, a test for phlebitis.
Result: 26 of these patients, in other words, 46% of them were affected by deep vein thrombosis. Therefore, almost half of these Covid-19 patients were affected by phlebitis. A "very high" case series, which worries the study authors.
Covid-19 and phlebitis: other preventive treatments studied
These findings highlight "a very high prevalence of deep vein thrombosis, a large proportion of which is life-threatening, in patients intubated with Covid-19, despite standard anticoagulant therapy applied as prevention," the researchers say.
To limit the risk of phlebitis in these patients, "the team is evaluating other anticoagulation regimens, allowing it to be prevented more effectively."
covid-19, intubated, phlebitis, ventilated, pneumonia, coronavirus, thrombosis, pandemic, patients, ventilation, mechanics, pulmonary embolism