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

To analyze the incidence and characteristics of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in Croatia. 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. 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