This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • World Health  • Venous Thromboembolism  • Alert me on articles by topic

Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2008;299(7):755.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Common minor leg injuries such as ankle sprains and muscle ruptures appear to be associated with a higher risk for blood clots in the legs or lungs, according to a large population-based, case-control study by Dutch researchers (van Stralen KJ. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168[1]:21-26).

The study involved 2471 patients who developed venous thrombosis between 1999 and 2004 and 3534 matched controls. About 11.7% of the patients had a minor injury that did not require surgery, a plaster cast, or extended bed rest in the 3 months preceding the venous thrombosis, compared with 4.4% of the controls. Injuries in the leg were associated with thrombosis while those in other locations were not.

The finding that the association was strongest for injuries in the month before the venous thrombosis suggests the effect is transient. Individuals with a genetic risk factor (factor V Leiden carriers) and a leg injury . . . [Full Text of this Article]