Abdominal venous thrombosis may present as BCS or SVT. Hereditary and acquired risk factors have been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of abdominal venous thrombosis. Hereditary risk factors for thrombophilia include Factor V Leiden gene mutation, Prothrombin gene mutation, homozygous methyl tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene mutation and deficiencies of coagulation inhibitor Protein C, Protein S and Antithrombin III. There are few studies from South Asian region which have comprehensively evaluated prothrombotic risk factors in BCS and PVT.

A research article to be published on July 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Prof. Ashok Chacko at the Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, India investigated the inherited and acquired risk factors causing clotting of blood in abdominal veins.

Thirty-six patients with blood clots in abdominal veins were studied. The patients were divided into BCS group and SVT group based on the veins involved. Twenty patients had SVT, 14 had BCS and 2 had mixed venous involvement. Inherited and acquired risk factors for blood clotting were evaluated in all patients.

Overall, 10 patients (28%) had inherited and 10 patients (28%) acquired risk factors. The acquired risk factors were significantly more common in the SVT group while inherited risk factors though higher than controls did not show significant difference between the two groups. Multiple risk factors were present in one (7%) patient with BCS and 3 patients (15%) with SVT. No risk factors were identified in 57% of patients with BCS and 45% of patients with SVT.

Their result indicate that hereditary and acquired risk factors play an important role in etiopathogenesis of abdominal venous hrombosis. Acquired risk factors are significantly more common in patients with SVT while hereditary risk factors are similar in patients with BCS and SVT. Recognition and evaluation of these risk factors may help in therapy and prevention of disease progression. As a significant number of patients lack obvious etiology further research is required to identify as yet unrecognized risk factors.

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Reference- Dutta AK, Chacko A, George B, Joseph AJ, Nair SC, Mathews V. Risk factors of thrombosis in abdominal veins. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(28)- 4518-4522

Correspondence to- Dr. Ashok Chacko, MD, MNAMS (Gastro), DM, Professor & Head, Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore 632 004, India. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Telephone +91-416-2282148 Fax +91-416-2232035

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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