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World J Crit Care Med. Jun 9, 2023; 12(3): 130-138
Published online Jun 9, 2023. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v12.i3.130
Upper extremity deep vein thrombosis: An intensivist’s perspective
Omender Singh, Deven Juneja
Omender Singh, Deven Juneja, Institute of Critical Care Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi 110017, India
Author contributions: Singh O and Juneja D performed all the writing, researched the project, prepared the tables, performed data accusation, and reviewed the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Deven Juneja, DNB, Director, Institute of Critical Care Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, 1, Press Enclave Road, New Delhi 110017, India. devenjuneja@gmail.com
Received: December 29, 2022
Peer-review started: December 29, 2022
First decision: March 15, 2023
Revised: March 16, 2023
Accepted: April 20, 2023
Article in press: April 20, 2023
Published online: June 9, 2023
Processing time: 160 Days and 17.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT), is largely under-recognised and an often missed diagnosis. Even though it is less common than the lower extremity DVT, it is increasingly being diagnosed, especially in intensive care unit patients because of presence of venous catheters and devices in these patients. Traditionally used clinical probability scores and tests like D-dimer may not be as effective in diagnosing UEDVT. Bedside Doppler ultrasound is the most commonly employed diagnostic tool which may aid in clinching the diagnosis. Contrast venography remains the gold standard, but is rarely required. Pulmonary embolism is the most dreaded complication but the rates of other complications including post thrombotic syndrome and recurrent DVT also remain significant. Anticoagulant therapy alone is sufficient in most patients. However, UEDVT may be associated with high mortality rates unless early diagnostic and therapeutic measures are initiated.