Venous thromboembolism in Croatia - Croatian Cooperative Group for Hematologic Diseases (CROHEM) study

AIM: To analyze the incidence and characteristics of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in Croatia. ----- METHODS: The Croatian Cooperative Group for Hematologic Diseases conducted an observational non-interventional study in 2011. Medical records of patients with newly diagnosed VTE hospitalized in general hospitals in 4 Croatian counties (Šibenik-Knin, Koprivnica-Križevci, Brod-Posavina, and Varaždin County) were reviewed. According to 2011 Census, the population of these counties comprises 13.1% of the Croatian population. ----- RESULTS: There were 663 patients with VTE; 408 (61.54%) had deep vein thrombosis, 219 (33.03%) had pulmonary embolism, and 36 (5.43%) had both conditions. Median age was 71 years, 290 (43.7%) were men and 373 (56.3%) women. Secondary VTE was found in 57.3% of participants, idiopathic VTE in 42.7%, and recurrent VTE in 11.9%. There were no differences between patients with secondary VTE and patients with idiopathic VTE in disease recurrence and sex. The most frequent causes of secondary VTE were cancer (40.8%), and trauma, surgery, and immobilization (38.2%), while 42.9% patients with secondary VTE had ≥2 causes. There were 8.9% patients ≤45 years; 3.3% with idiopathic or recurrent VTE. Seventy patients (10.6%) died, more of whom had secondary (81.4%) than idiopathic (18.6%) VTE (P