BACKGROUND: In an autopsy series, 10 out of 27 deaths in which 'idiopathic' pulmonary emboli were discerned as the sole cause of death had occurred in psychiatric patients. AIMS: To investigate whether antipsychotic medication is a risk factor for venous thrombosis. METHOD: A description of the 10 psychiatric patients was obtained from the pulmonary emboli autopsy reports. We carried out a brief historic overview of the literature. We re-analysed data from the Leiden Thrombophilia Study (LETS), a case-control study on patients with venous thrombosis. RESULTS: In the autopsy reports, five out of 10 psychiatric patients with fatal pulmonary embolism had confirmed use of antipsychotic drugs. After the application of chlorpromazine and its analogues a higher incidence of venous thrombosis in psychiatric patients was described in the German literature between 1953 and 1977. In the re-analysis of the LETS case-control study, four patients used antipsychotic drugs versus none in the control group. Recent epidemiological studies of good methodological quality have confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS: Venous thrombosis appears to be associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs in psychiatric patients.
BACKGROUND: In an autopsy series, 10 out of 27 deaths in which 'idiopathic' pulmonary emboli were discerned as the sole cause of death had occurred in psychiatricpatients. AIMS: To investigate whether antipsychotic medication is a risk factor for venous thrombosis. METHOD: A description of the 10 psychiatricpatients was obtained from the pulmonary emboli autopsy reports. We carried out a brief historic overview of the literature. We re-analysed data from the Leiden Thrombophilia Study (LETS), a case-control study on patients with venous thrombosis. RESULTS: In the autopsy reports, five out of 10 psychiatricpatients with fatal pulmonary embolism had confirmed use of antipsychotic drugs. After the application of chlorpromazine and its analogues a higher incidence of venous thrombosis in psychiatricpatients was described in the German literature between 1953 and 1977. In the re-analysis of the LETS case-control study, four patients used antipsychotic drugs versus none in the control group. Recent epidemiological studies of good methodological quality have confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS:Venous thrombosis appears to be associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs in psychiatricpatients.
Authors: Murat Semiz; Hasan Yücel; Onder Kavakçı; Osman Yıldırım; Ali Zorlu; Mehmet Birhan Yılmaz; Zekeriya Küçükdurmaz; Fatih Canan Journal: J Res Med Sci Date: 2013-07 Impact factor: 1.852