Abstract

KOCH, O et al. Incidence of deep vein thrombosis following shoulder replacement surgery: a prospective study. SA orthop. j. [online]. 2017, vol.16, n.4, pp.33-39. ISSN 2309-8309.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2309-8309/2017/v16n4a5.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after shoulder replacement surgery is not well documented. Evidence that exists on thromboprophylaxis for upper limb surgery is based on level III and level IV studies. The hypothesis for the current study was that the incidence of DVT following shoulder replacement would be less than the published prevalence in hip and knee arthroplasties METHODS: All participants who received shoulder arthroplasty surgery at the institution from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2015 and who met the inclusion criteria were eligible for inclusion in the study. A duplex Doppler study was done on the affected limb of all participants on average ten days after the surgery. A study of all four limbs was done in selected participants RESULTS: Fifty-seven participants (28 males and 29 females) with 30 reverse shoulder replacements, 22 hemiarthroplasties, and five resurfacing shoulder replacements were included. The incidence of DVT was 12.3% (7/57). Two axillary vein and three brachial vein DVTs account for the upper limb DVTs. Two DVTs were reported in the lower limb CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that the incidence of DVT after shoulder replacement surgery was higher than anticipated and is similar to the DVT rates in lower limb arthroplasty Level of evidence: Level 4

Keywords : shoulder replacement surgery; deep vein thrombosis; pulmonary embolism; thromboprophylaxis; venous thromboembolism.

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