Abstract Premortem clinical presentation of cancer‐associated non‐bacterial thrombotic endocarditis (Ca‐NBTE), therapy, and the clinal course is limited to case reports and small clinical series. An electronic search of Mayo Clinic records (03/31/2002–06/30/2022) with a subsequent manual review was performed to identify adult patients with echocardiographically detected NBTE and active malignancy, excluding those with infectious endocarditis or lupus anticoagulant/antiphospholipid antibodies. In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed 115 Ca‐NBTE patients (mean age 63.2 ± 9.7 years, 66.1% female) involving 71 (61.7%) mitral, 58 (50.4%) aortic, 8 (6.9%) tricuspid, and 1 (0.9%) pulmonary valve. The most common cancer was lung ( n = 45 cases (39.1%), followed by pancreatic ( n = 19, 16.5%), gynecological (17, 14.8%), gastrointestinal ( n = 10, 8.7%), and 10 (8.7%) with hematologic malignancy; 6 patients had two active cancers. Embolic complications at presentation were frequent: 94 (81.7%) brain, 11 splenic, 10 renal, 6 coronary, and 4 to the extremities. Of 104 anticoagulated patients, 60 received low molecular weight heparin, 17 unfractionated heparin, 16 apixaban, 8 warfarin, and 3 rivaroxaban. There were 18 arterial thromboembolisms; the Kaplan–Meier estimates of the incidence at 2 years were consistent with a rate of 15.9% [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 9.9–23.3], including 14 strokes (12.4%, 95%CI, 7.1–19.2), and 8 other arterial emboli (10.5%, 95%CI, 4.7–18.9); there were 10 venous thromboembolisms (8.9%, 95%CI, 4.5–15.0). Fourteen major bleedings occurred (12.8%, 95%CI, 7.3–19.9) and 94 patients died during follow‐up (77.9%, 95%CI, 71.1–85.8). Ca‐NBTE predominantly affected women with lung adenocarcinoma or digestive tract cancers and manifested by stroke with high mortality and frequent embolic and bleeding complications during anticoagulation therapy.
Calf Vein Thrombosis Comparison of Outcomes for Axial and Muscular Venous Thrombosis
Abstract Background The objective of this study was to characterize clinical features and outcomes among patients with calf deep vein thrombosis (DVT) limited to the muscular veins compared with axial veins. Methods Consecutive patients with ultrasound confirmed acute DVT involving the calf veins (January 1, 2016–August 1, 2018) were identified from the Gonda Vascular Center ultrasound database. Patients were divided into axial or muscular groups based on thrombus location. Demographics, management, and outcomes were compared. Results Over the study period, there were 647 patients with calf DVT equally distributed between axial (n = 321) and muscular (n = 326) locations. Within these groups, peroneal and soleal veins were most commonly involved. Nearly all cases were provoked (97%). Synchronous pulmonary embolism (PE) were more common for axial (30.8%) compared to muscular groups (20.2%; p = 0.001); nearly one-third had no pulmonary symptoms. Anticoagulation for a median of 3 months was initiated for 85.5% of both groups. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence was more common in the axial group (15.9% vs. 7.1%, p = 0.0015) including more frequent DVT propagation (9.4% vs. 3.1%; p = 0.0017) and PE (3.4% vs. 0.6%; p = 0.0168). Major bleeding, clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding, and mortality rates did not differ between groups. Withholding anticoagulation led to more frequent thrombus propagation in the axial group (3.4% vs. 0.9%; p = 0.029). Conclusion Several important features distinguish muscular from axial DVT. Axial DVT are more likely to have an associated PE and are more likely to experience recurrent VTE, particularly if anticoagulation is withheld.
Effectiveness and safety of apixaban and rivaroxaban for acute venous thromboembolism therapy in patients with extremes in bodyweight
Abstract Objectives To investigate the association of extremes in bodyweight (EBW) and outcomes in patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE). Recurrent VTE, major bleeding, and clinically relevant non‐major bleeding were compared between patients with bodyweight <60 kg, 60‐120 kg, and >120 kg. Methods Consecutive patients enrolled in the Mayo Clinic VTE Registry (03/28/2013‐8/31/2019) with acute VTE were followed prospectively. Patient status was assessed in person, by mailing a written questionnaire, or by a scripted phone interview. Results Among 2577 patients with weight ranging from 27.0 kg to 263.2 kg, 2123 (82%) had a bodyweight between 60 and 120 kg, 223 (8.7%) had bodyweight < 60 kg, and 230 (8.9%) had bodyweight >120 kg. Patients with bodyweight <60 kg treated with DOACs had higher 3‐ and 6‐month incidence of major bleeding compared to the bodyweight 60‐120kg group (4.4% vs 1.1%, P = .03, and 4.4% vs 1.4%, P = .05, respectively). Patients with bodyweight >120 kg and cancer on rivaroxaban had higher VTE recurrence compared to bodyweight 60‐120kg group ( P = .01). Conclusions Treatment of acute VTE is associated with a higher incidence of bleeding in patients with bodyweight <60 kg. A higher VTE recurrence rate occurred only in cancer patients with bodyweight >120 kg on rivaroxaban.