[Management of venous thromboembolism in psychiatric patients]

Abstract

Background: Several studies conducted in psychiatric populations, have reported the promoting and pejorative role of psychiatric community in thrombogenesis.

Aims: To clarify the specificity of psychiatric community in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and to propose a set of general recommendations for appropriate care.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE (PubMed) between 1956 and 2010. We reviewed article titles and abstracts and full text of selected studies of psychiatric patients with venous thromboembolism disease. We identified 50 studies that investigated the association between psychiatric disease and venous thromboembolism events.

Results: In psychiatric community venous thromboembolism disease has several characteristics: epidemiological, clinical and evolutionary and is conditioned by a combination of several thromboembolism risk factors: - Linked in part to the psychiatric illness itself, - But above all specific therapeutic methods in psychiatric community (anti-psychotic, restraint...) which are easily preventable.

Conclusion: Besides the medical side, the psychiatric community itself is characterized by a large number of variables, giving a particularly encouraging and derogatory about the advent and development of VTE.