Patients With ICU Stays Are More Likely to Have VTE, With Odds Ratios From 1.09 to 2.92 in Major Massachusetts Hospitals


In Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)

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By: James Pitt  May. 03, 2018

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a vein, then may dislodge. According to the American Heart Association, it is “the third leading vascular diagnosis after heart attack and stroke, affecting about 300,000–600,000 Americans each year.” ; The Cleveland Clinic has a higher estimate of 1 million Americans per year.

Patients in intensive care units are at particular risk of VTE. This is because risk factors for VTE include recent major surgery, cancers, and immobility. Dexur has previously examined how sepsis relates to VTE mortality.

Dexur analysts investigated the relationship between VTE and ICU stays in septicemia patients. Data was sourced from Medicare inpatients in Massachusetts hospitals with over 5,000 patients per year, and is limited to patients with septicemia with major complications who were not on mechanical ventilation from more than 96 hours (DRG 871). Patients with VTE and septicemia were more likely to have had an ICU stay than patients with septicemia alone. However, the gap varied widely between different hospitals.

The largest gap was at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth, where 67% of patients with DRG 871 and VTE had an ICU stay, but only 41% of patients with just DRG 871 had an ICU stay. The smallest gap was at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), where 39% of patients with DRG 871 and VTE had an ICU stay, while 37% of all patients with DRG 871 had an ICU stay.

Patients with ICU stays were more likely to have VTE than patients without ICU stays. However, this data should not be used for causal claims. CMS data does not distinguish patients who developed VTE during an ICU stay from patients who developed VTE before an ICU stay.

DEXUR PRO MEMBERS GET ACCESS TO:

  1. Total discharges with septicemia, discharges with VTE and septicemia, and percentage of discharges with ICU stay by VTE status at South Shore Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center, St. Luke's Hospital, Charlton Memorial Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, NSMC Salem Hospital, Brigham And Womens Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Beverly Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth, Cape Cod Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Lowell General Hospital - Main, Berkshire Medical Center, Berkshire Medical Center, UMass Memorial Medical Center, and Newton-Wellesley Hospital, 2013-2016.
  2. Hospital, state, and national comparisons of difference in ICU stay between septicemia patients with and without VTE.
  3. Odds ratio calculations, including odds of VTE with and without an ICU stay, for all of the above hospitals except Lowell General Hospital - Main.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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James Pitt

James Pitt is a science writer with experience in medical devices and textbook publishing. His hobbies include reading, flintknapping, and squinting at RStudio. He received a bachelor's in Human Evolutionary Biology from Harvard.