Prevalence of Venous Thromboembolism in Kumasi: A Postmortem-Based Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana

BACKGROUND: There is a dearth of publications on the prevalence of venous thromboembolism in Ghana. Knowledge of the prevalence of venous thromboembolism, which is often undetected clinically, will help save lives as appropriate interventions can be made as well as provide a general clue to clinicians on detecting venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism. METHODS: The study employs a retrospective design with data extracted from the Autopsy Daybook of the Pathology unit, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, 2009 to 2016. Data on patients’ demographics were retrieved to establish diagnoses and age and gender distribution. Analysis was made of pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis as a cause of death recorded on death certificates using the criteria of the International Classification of Diseases, version 10. RESULTS: A total of 150 cases of deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism were available for the study period and the results showed an average age of 45.3 years with a standard deviation of 19.96. The ages ranged between 3 years and 96 years with the age group 31 to 40 years being the modal age group. Males recorded the highest number of cases with 92 (59.35%) compared to females with 63 (40.65%). Respiratory disorders, of which pneumonia is the most prevalent, are the leading clinical condition that is often misdiagnosed in place of pulmonary thromboembolism. CONCLUSION: VTE is a major health problem especially among the elderly, but unfortunately the clinical diagnosis is usually missed by clinicians hence the need to maintain a high suspicion index.