Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a known complication in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of VTE in patients with UC, and to identify potential risk factors for VTE in this population.
Methods: This was a single-centre retrospective cohort study involving 167 patients with UC from 2015 and 2022. Patient demographics, disease characteristics, medication history, and VTE events were extracted from outpatient records.
Results: The study included 167 patients, of which 58.68% were males. The prevalence of VTE in outpatients with UC was 3% (n=5), with four patients having deep venous thrombosis (DVT), two having cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and one patient having both CVT and DVT. The mean age of patients with VTE was 48 ± 18.75 years and all patients were females. Four patients had history of acute severe colitis in past and were treated with steroids. There was no mortality in patients with VTE during the study period, and none underwent colectomy. Prothrombotic work up was negative in all the patients (4/4). The median duration of follow-up was five years, and median duration between IBD diagnosis and occurrence of VTE was three years.
Conclusion: This study found a prevalence of 3% in a cohort of UC patients with milder disease. Past history of acute severe colitis and steroid use were seen in patients with UC who developed VTE (4/5), though no statistically significant association could be found due to small sample size.