Assessment of the clinical and laboratory risk factors for thrombosis in neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (two Egyptian tertiary centers experience)

In neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), arterial and venous thromboembolism is a major cause of morbidity and death which could be attributed to multiple risk factors exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory and radiological assessments, predisposing risk factors, and outcomes of thrombosis in neonates admitted to NICU. This prospective cohort study was conducted at NICU, Minia, and Alexandria University Children’s Hospital. Screening of 886 patients admitted to NICU over one year with different clinical presentations, patients were classified into the thrombotic and non-thrombotic groups based on the presence or absence of thrombosis. Thrombosis was diagnosed based on clinical, laboratory and different radiologic assessments. Genetic testing for factor V Leiden mutations G1691A, prothrombin mutation G20210A, protein C, protein S, and antithrombin III gene mutations were performed for patients with a family history of thrombosis. Out of a total of 886 neonatal admissions, 36 patients were diagnosed with evident thrombosis (40 per 1000 NICU admissions). The sites of venous thrombosis detection were Portal vein thrombosis in 11 patients (30.6%), superior vena cava thrombosis in 7 patients (19.4%), deep venous thrombosis in 5 patients (13.9%), central venous thrombosis in 5 patients (13.9%), intra-cardiac thrombosis in 3 patients (8.3%) and necrotic skin patches in one patient (2.8%). Only 69% of enrolled thrombosis patients showed genetic mutations the most common of which was factor V Leiden mutation (52.3%). Sepsis, central venous line (CVL) insertion, C reactive protein (CRP), and duration of NICU admission were significantly more common in the thrombotic group (p < 0.001) and were associated with a higher risk of thrombosis (ORs: 1.02, 7.7, and 1.11, respectively) (p < 0.001). Higher mortality occurred in thrombosis neonates compared with a non-thrombotic group (52.8% versus 17.4%) (p < 0.001). NICU-admitted neonates are exposed to multiple overlapped risk factors, the detection of which is important for preventing potential thrombosis and improving the patient’s outcomes. The complexity of sepsis pathogenesis and management could potentiate multiple acquired risk factors. inherited thrombophilia detection is required for prevention of further morbidities.