ABSTRACT
Background: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) usually affects patients who are over 40 years old; obese; bed ridden or have had major operations or have hypercoagulable states. Healthy and ambu-lant young people are usually not affected.Objectives: To report the observation of DVT in young patients below the age of 40 yearsMethods: A study of all healthy and ambulatory patients below the age of forty years with a diag-nosis of DVT seen on one surgical unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital; Accra was performed from 1st January 2000 to 30th June 2003.Results: Eleven patients; eight (8) females and three (3) males aged between 20 and 40 years with a median age of 32 years were treated. All the pa-tients had deep venous thrombosis of the lower limb confirmed with Doppler studies and duplex scan of the lower limb. Swollen lower limb was the commonest presenting symptom and sign. Pro-longed sitting was the main factor in 9 out of eleven patients.Conclusions: Deep venous thrombosis may not be a rare condition in the young ambulant Ghanaian and may be related mainly to a sedentary life style. Diagnosis should be suspected in patients who present with unilateral swollen and oedematous leg. There is the need to study the ailment in greater detail
Subject(s)
Edema , Ghana , Venous ThrombosisABSTRACT
"Nous avons realise une etude de 339 cas d'oedemes des inferieurs recenses dans le service de Option : Medecine Interne du CHU de Treichville du 1o'Janvier 2003 au 30 Juin 2004. Cette etude nous a permis de definirle profil epidemiologique; clinique et etiologique des patients presentant ces oedemes. L'incidence des oedemes des membres inferieurs dans le service s'etablissait a 6.31pour cent. L'age moyen a ete de 44 ans pour l'ensemble des patients avec des extremes de 15 ans et 90 ans. Les signes fonctionnels associes etaient domines par la dyspnee (43.95pour cent); le ballonnement abdominal (29pour cent) et l'ictere (8.55pour cent). Le tableau clinique etait essentiellement celui de l'insuffisance cardiaque (35.59""pour cent); du syndrome oedemato-ascitique (29.85pour cent); le syndrome oedemateux bilateral isole (15.33pour cent) et l'arasarque (14;74pour cent). Au plan etiologique; l'oedeme generalise representait 84.66pour cent de notre population. Les principaux organes atteints etaient le cour(44.01pour cent); le foie (26.05pour cent) et le rein (18.31pour cent). L'HTA (45.16pour cent) et la myocardiopathie du post-partum (19.35pour cent) dominaient les atteintes myocardiques. L'HTA pulmonaire etait en majorite associee a l'infection a VIH (66pour cent). L'oedeme hepatique etait essentiellement du a la cirrhose post-hepatitique decompensee (63.38pour cent). Les syndromes nephrotiques (46.16pour cent); la nephropathie hypertensive (28.84pour cent) et l'insuffisance renale aigue (15.38pour cent) dominaient les causes de l'oedeme d'origine renale. Les syndromes nephrotiques etaient principalement lies au VIH (50pour cent); au diabete (27.77pour cent) et gravidique (16.67pour cent). La denutrition (76pour cent des. oedemes carentiels) etaient surtout due a l'infection a VIH (52.63pour cent) et au cancer (26.33pour cent). La denutrition (32.70pour cent) ; l'erysipele (26.92pour cent) et la phlebite (17.30pour cent) etaient les principales etiologies des oedemes localises."