LAUSR

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common and lethal disease. Assessing the risk factors will help to modify exposures. Aim This study, assessed VTE risk factors in hospitalized patients at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. Patients and Methods This was an observational, case-control study. Three hundred and fifty (350) patients were recruited for the study: This comprised 150 medical patients, 140 surgical patients and a population of 60 healthy control group. Subjects were evaluated once using the Caprini risk assessment model (RAM). Results Over 50% of all hospitalized patients, were at risk for VTE. Surgical patients were at a higher risk than medical patients. Hemoglobin concentration was associated with the risk of VTE in surgical patients, while d-dimer was associated with VTE risk in medical patients. Conclusion This study shows a high prevalence of VTE risk factors among hospitalized patients at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.