European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

RISK OF THROMBOEMBOLISM IN COVID-19 PATIENTS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Iyanu V. Olateju MD, MHA*, Dolly Ogwu MD, Adaugo Opiegbe MD, Matthew O. Owolabi MD, MHA, Odunayo S. Lawal MD, MHA

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is majorly regarded as a respiratory system disease; however, several studies have reported a high incidence of coagulopathy in COVID-19 patients. The pathophysiology of the disease and the ability to activate multiple coagulopathy cascades are seen through literature as the mechanism for thromboembolism. This review aimed to evaluate the risk of thromboembolic complications in COVID-19 patients and analyze the management approach. We conducted a literature search through PubMed and Embase with specific common and MeSH keywords. We elicited various articles from which 37 reports pertinent to the objectives of this review were included following the exclusion of duplicates, non-English language publications, and non-full text reports. This review revealed the presence of an association between COVID-19 and the incidence of thromboembolism, especially in critically ill COVID-19 patients. This association has been linked to numerous factors like race/ethnicity, immune response, exaggerated systemic inflammatory and coagulation response. There is a need for comprehensive research to explore the racial/geographical distribution of thromboembolic complications of COVID 19 and any underlying pre-existing conditions that may predispose COVID patients to thromboembolism. This will help expand the prophylactic guidelines to such patient categories and ultimately decrease hospitalization and mortality rates.

Keywords: COVID-19, Thromboembolism, Coagulopathy, Thrombosis.