Inflammatory bowel disease is a risk of venous thrombosis

The chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are a risk factor for venous thromboembolism, which is not the case of other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or celiac disease, according to an Austrian study published in the journal "Gut".
"For many years, doctors have thought that patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk of venous thromboembolism," recalls Dr. Miehsler, University of Vienna, and colleagues.

However, this risk was not well quantified, studies on the subject have given prevalence (total number of cases per year) of venous thrombosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease between 1.2 % to 6.7%, but up to 39%, according to post-mortem analysis, the researchers note that involve the methodological limitations of these studies.

Similarly, we did not know if the risk of venous thromboembolism was specific to inflammatory bowel disease or other inflammatory joint diseases of different location, they add.

The authors are interested in 618 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or indeterminate colitis disease), 243 suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, to 207 with celiac disease and 707 people healthy (control group).

They thus demonstrated a 3.6 times higher risk of venous thrombosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, with 6.2% of patients involved against 1.6% in the control group.

The risk of venous thromboembolism was specific to inflammatory bowel disease, since no increased risk was observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or celiac disease.

In 60% of cases of venous thrombosis occurred in those with inflammatory bowel disease, there was at least one specific factor IBD (active disease, stenosis, fistula, abscess) at the time of the occurrence of thromboembolic complications vein, the authors say.

Inflammatory bowel disease is therefore a specific risk factor for venous thrombosis, which is not the case of rheumatoid arthritis or celiac disease, they conclude.