Research progress of venous thromboembolism in patients after traumatic brain injury

Venous thromboembolism(VTE), including deep venous thrombosis(DVT) and pulmonary thromboembolism(PE), is an important cause of unexpected death and disability of inpatients. Traumatic brain injury(TBI) patients are at high risk of VTE because of many factors such as consciousness disorder, operation, deep vein catheterization, dehydration treatment, systemic infection, long-term bed rest and limb dysfunction, but VTE can be prevented. The current preventive measures for VTE in TBI patients include basic prevention, physical prevention, drug prevention, and prevention of inferior vena cava filter implantation. Because it does not increase the risk of bleeding, the physical prevention measures of VTE are more widely used and safe, and have become an important part of standardized prevention of thrombosis. Anticoagulation therapy is relatively safe and effective as a basic treatment to prevent VTE. However, for patients with TBI, most neurosurgeons are more inclined to delay VTE drug prevention in patients with TBI due to concerns that anticoagulant drugs will lead to a new bleeding process or the initial development of intracranial hemorrhage(ICH). It is a major issue for clinicians to correctly assess the VTE risk of patients and give effective antithrombotic treatment in a timely manner to maximize the benefits of antithrombotic/bleeding risk. This article reviews the incidence, risk factors, diagnosis and prevention of VTE after TBI.