Deep Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Undergone-mechanical Ventilation

Abstract

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suffer muscle weakness of the whole body, often become bedridden, so they may have multiple risk factors for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It is notable that pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) and sudden death have been recognized as cause of death in patients with ALS. We assessed the incidence of DVT in 13 prolonged bedridden patients with ALS undergone mechanical ventilation using venous ultrasonography of lower extremities. We detected 3 patients (23.1%) with DVT. In the sites of DVT formation, there was one case in left superficial femoral vein, left peroneal vein and left soleus vein, one case in bilateral common femoral veins and left superficial femoral vein, and one case in right soleus vein, respectively. The range of mechanical ventilation of them was 21‒64 months. It is very important to assess DVT in medical care for ALS.