Incidence and associated risk factors of venous thromboembolism after open and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in patients administered short-period thromboprophylaxis: a Danish nationwide population-based cohort study

Objective: To report the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after partial nephrectomy in Denmark.

Materials and methods: A nationwide population-based registry was used to conduct a retrospective cohort study. All partial nephrectomies from January 2010 to August 2018 were assessed for postoperative VTE events. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to evaluate the odds of postoperative VTE within 4 weeks and 4 months after partial nephrectomy in patients who received standard-of-care thromboprophylaxis.

Results: Among 2355 patients, postoperative VTE risk was 0.6% and 0.9%, at 4 weeks and 4 months, respectively. In multivariate analysis, prior VTE (OR = 24.9, p < 0.001) and length of hospital stay (OR = 0.89, p < 0.001) were predictors of postoperative VTE within 4 months after partial nephrectomy. Limitations included the retrospective and registry-based study design and the absence of BMI data.

Conclusion: Incidence of postoperative VTE is rare, but patients with prior VTE and those with a greater length of hospital stay are at greater long-term risk and should be evaluated when considering thromboprophylaxis.