Prevalence of deep venous thrombosis in the lower extremities of children in the intensive care unit.

PURPOSE

To determine the prevalence of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (LE-DVT) in children who spent at least 72 h in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Children up to the age of 17 years who spent at least 72 h in the ICU underwent lower extremity venous ultrasound at the end of their stay. Prevalence range for the sample size was calculated with a confidence interval of 95%.

RESULTS

Among 76 children who spent 3-141 days in the ICU, the prevalence of acute (and silent) DVT was 4% (confidence interval 0-9%). All three affected children had femoral venous catheters in that leg during their ICU stay (17 unaffected children also had catheters).

CONCLUSION

Children in an ICU setting are at significantly lower risk for thrombosis than adults in the same setting.