Abstract:
Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cause of cardiovascular
death and is responsible for more than 3 million deaths annually worldwide. Despite high rates of
morbidity and mortality associated with VTE, limited studies have been conducted on treatment
outcomes and associated factors in Ethiopia, particularly in study settings.
OBJECTIVE: To assess treatment outcomes and associated factors among patients admitted
with venous thromboembolism at public hospitals of Harar town Harar, eastern Ethiopia, from
March 10, 2022, to April 8, 2022.
METHODS: A hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional study design was conducted among
502 patients admitted with venous thromboembolism at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized
Hospital and Jugal General Hospital using simple random sampling technique. Data abstraction
formats were used to collect data from patient medical record cards. Then data were coded and
entered into EpiData version 3.1 computer programs and exported to SPSS version 26 for
analysis. All covariates that had a P-value less than 0.25 in the bivariable analysis were a
candidate for multivariable analysis and variables with a P-value of less than 0.05 were
considered as predictors of poor treatment outcome.
RESULTS: A total of 502 patient medical record cards with outcome variables were included in
the study. More than half of the patients 350 (69.7%) were females. Among the 502 patients who
were admitted with VTE, 8.2% (95% CI: 5.6 to 10.6) patients had poor treatment outcomes.
Factors such as age >50 years (AOR; 15.95 (95%CI: 4.54-19.92)); Cancer (AOR; 9.00 (95%CI:
1.31-14.69)); Chronic heart failure (AOR; 8.05(95%CI: 2.73-13.75)); Myocardial infarction
(AOR; 5.68 (95%CI: 1.95-10.52)); and Recurrent venous thromboembolism (AOR; 3.77 (95%
CI: 1.40-5.14)) were significantly associated with poor treatment outcome of venous
thromboembolism.
CONCLUSION: This study found that nearly 8.2% of patients with venous thromboembolism
had poor treatment outcomes. In general, venous thromboembolism mortality rates were high in
elderly group and patients with comorbidity and risk factors. Therefore, it is better to give more
attention to the elderly group and patients with comorbidity and risk factors to improve the
treatment outcomes of these populations
