PURPOSE: The incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after abdominal surgery has been thought to be lower in Asian populations than in Western populations, but there is little information on the incidence and risk factors in Korea. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of postoperative DVT and to analyze the risk factors for DVT in patients who were not administered perioperative prophylactic anticoagulation. METHODS: On a prospective basis, we evaluated the incidence of DVT and analyzed the risk factors associated with the development of DVT in 152 patients who were scheduled to undergo abdominal surgery for gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, or pancreatic disease. All patients were examined by duplex scanning on both of their lower extremities during hospitalization. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 56.8+/-11.8 years, and the male to female ratio was 1:0.7. DVT occurred at a rate of 7.2% (11 patients). All the cases of DVT were asymptomatic and located in the calf veins. There was no statistically significant difference between the DVT and non-DVT groups for risk factors. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of DVT after abdominal surgery at a single institute was lower than levels currently suggested in Western countries. A larger, randomized, multi-center study is needed to establish the guidelines towards the prevention of DVT occurrence after abdominal surgery in Korea.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Pancreatic Diseases ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Veins ; Venous Thrombosis