Deep vein thrombosis and air travel

The findings of a recent study suggest that air travel does not increase the risk of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), challenging the widely held view that DVT is one of the most common conditions associated with air travel. In the study, published as a short Research Letter in the 28 October Lancet, Kraaijenhagen and colleagues looked at the role of air travel in 186 patients with proven DVT of the leg (cases) and 602 patients who had suspected DVT but in whom this diagnosis was ruled out by ultrasonography or venography and an uneventful 3-month follow-up (controls).

Similar proportions of patients with DVT (2.15%) and without DVT (2.16%) reported a history of air travel during the preceding 4 weeks. Air travel alone was not associated with an increased risk of DVT (odds ratio, 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.3—1.4); furthermore, travel using any form of transportation (plane, car, bus, train, and boat ...