Those interested in Erica Weir's timely review on air travel and the risk of venous thromboembolism1 might wish to read a recent article by Kraaijenhagen and colleagues.2 In this prospective study, the travel history of 186 patients with confirmed deep vein thrombosis was compared with that of 602 patients who had similar symptoms but did not have the disease. A similar proportion of patients in each group had undertaken various types of travel. There was no increased risk of deep vein thrombosis among travellers. This report further weakens the potential association between symptomatic thrombosis and travel.
Signature
Michael J. Mant
Department of Medicine University of Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
References
- 1.Weir E. The weak connection between venous thromboembolism and air travel. CMAJ 2001; 164 (7):1037. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
- 2.Kraaijenhagen RA, Haverkamp A, Koopman MMW, Prandoni P, Piovella F, Buller HR. Travel and risk of venous thrombosis. Lancet 2000; 356: 1492-3. [DOI] [PubMed]