Presentation patterns and prognosis of 109 isolated venous injuries in 99 patients

Abstract

Objectives

To identify outcome predictors of isolated venous injuries (VIs).

Methods

Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected information.

Results

A total of 99 patients with 109 isolated VI were included. All-cause mortality was 18/99 (18%) and mortality related to the VI was 10/99 (10%). On multivariate analysis, independent predictors of all-cause mortality included age (odds ratio – OR – 1.06, p = 0.042), external cause – trauma and foreign body retention – of VI (OR 34.62, p = 0.002) and the number of red blood cell units transfused intraoperatively (OR 2.10, p < 0.001), while independent predictors of VI-related mortality included external cause of VI (OR 47.60, p = 0.001) and the number of red blood cell units transfused intraoperatively (OR 1.72, p = 0.003).

Conclusions

VIs due to external causes have a high mortality rate. On the other hand, VIs due to internal causes (iatrogenic injuries during a surgical procedure) are managed promptly and have a very low mortality related to the VI.