The Etiology of Venous Thrombosis of the Extremities

Abstract

We prospectively studied 103 patients with venous thrombosis of the extremities (61 patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), 42 patients with thrombophlebitis of varicose veins) to detect the causes or predisposing factors. Twenty—three patients with DVT had various diseases. Half of these patients had cancer. Coagulopathy or uterine myoma were found in five of the 15 patients who had a predisposing episode before they developed DVT. Sixteen of the 20 patients who had no known disease or predisposing episode were found to have malignant tumors, benign tumors, or coagulopathy. In conclusion, most patients (96.7%) with DVT had a causative disease or predisposing factor. Ten of the 42 patients with thrombophlebitis of their varicose veins also had coagulopathy or another predisposing disease. It is important to remember the possibility of a tumor (malignant or benign) or coagulopathy when treating venous thrombosis, especially idiopathic deep venous thrombosis.