Investigation of Time-Course Changes in the Incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis during the Perioperative Period of Cancer of the Digestive System: A Prospective Study from Our Institution

Abstract

Purpose: The incidence of DVT in the perioperative period of digestive tract cancer was prospectively investigated under mechanical prophylaxis. Methods: Sixty patients (40 males and 20 females) were enrolled and compression ultrasonography was performed before, in the early postoperative period and 3 and 6 weeks after surgery. The primary endpoint was the incidence of DVT within 6 weeks after surgery. Secondary endpoint was the incidence of DVT in the perioperative period. Results: DVT was observed before surgery in 5 subjects (8.3%), and in 12 subjects (21.8%) within 6 weeks after surgery. Among these, 7 subjects (12.7%) developed DVT in the early postoperative period, 2 (4.3%) within 3 weeks, and 3 (6.8%) within 6 weeks after surgery. Among the 47 radical surgical subjects, DVT was observed before surgery in 3 (6.4%), and within 3 weeks after surgery in 8 (18.2%). At 6 weeks after surgery, DVT was not observed in the radical surgical group but in 3 out of 9 in the non-radical surgical subjects (P=0.0052). Conclusions: In digestive cancer, the influence of surgery on postoperative DVT was strongest in the early postoperative period and became weaker 3 or more weeks after surgery. More long-term attention to DVT was needed in the non-radical surgical group.