Open Your Eyes to Superficial Vein Thrombosis
Lower extremity SVT – Superficial venous thrombosis - is the inflammation of the superficial veins associated with venous thrombosis. Distinctive clinical findings: Pain and a reddened, warm, tender cord extending along the vein. The surrounding area may show signs of erythema and oedema. (Ref: Di Nisio M, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018;2:13.)
Estimated incidence: 1 per 1000 cases that may exceed that of DVT (ref: Nasr H, et al. Superficial thrombophlebitis (superficial venous thrombosis). BMJ 2015;350:h2039)
In people with a diagnosis of SVT:
6 % to 44 % have an associated (or develop ) DVT,
20 % to 33 % have asymptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE ). (Ref: Di Nisio M, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018;2:13.)
In patients with acute isolated SVT – that is, without concomitant deep vein thrombosis or symptomatic pulmonary embolism at presentation, SVT in the legs hold a substantial risk for symptomatic thromboembolic complications. In a large prospective, observational study, the 3-month risk of such complications was 8.3% with a 3.3% risk of deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. (Ref: Decousus et al Superficial vein thrombosis and venous thromboembolism: a large, prospective epidemiological study. Ann Intern Med 2010;152:218-24.)”