Rates of Thrombosis Not Significantly Higher in COVID-19 Patients

December 8, 2020

Sara Karlovitch Assistant Editor

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Conference|ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition - American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition

Study supports a more individualized approach to pharmacological thromboprophylaxis over a universal one in patients with COVID-19.

There are no significant differences in thrombotic rates among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and patients with non-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) respiratory illnesses, according to a study presented at the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) 62^nd Annual Meeting and Exposition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 1.5 million deaths and there have been more than 66.4 million confirmed cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. There has been mounting evidence that there is an association between COVID-19 and increased incidence of thrombotic events, according to the study.

Initially, the correlation was reported in critically ill COVID-19 patients. However, increased incidents were also observed in non-critical COVID-19 patients, leading to the universal recommendation for thromboprophylaxis for all COVID-19 patients by ASH.

The analysis was a single center, retrospective cohort study conducted between January 15, 2020, and April 10, 2020. A total of 181 patients with COVID-19 and 165 patients with non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viral infections were included in the study.

According to the study, thrombotic rates were low in both groups. Additionally, rates did not differ significantly between COVID-19 patients and non-SARS-CoV-2 patients. However, severely ill COVID-19 patients had higher absolute clot waveform analysis (CWA) parameters compared with the non-SARS-CoV-2 patients.

According to the study, a more individualized thromboprophylaxis approach that considers clinical and laboratory factors is preferred over universal pharmacological thromboprophylaxis for all hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The issue warrants further research, the study authors concluded.

REFERENCE:

Tan, Jing Yuan, 879 Thrombotic Events in COVID-19 Patients and Its Comparison with Other Non-Sars-Cov-2 Respiratory Viruses [Abstract] December 5, 2020. Accessed December 7, 2020. https://ash.confex.com/ash/2020/webprogram/Paper136482.html.