Res Pract Thromb Haemost. 2026 Jun 12;10(5):106798. doi: 10.1016/j.rpth.2026.106798. eCollection 2026 Jul.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) affects millions globally, resulting in significant costs to patients and healthcare systems. Robust incidence data on VTE are limited, with a scarcity of national-level data in Ireland. Objectives: Determination of the crude VTE incidence in Ireland between 2015-2022; and assessment of VTE events during the COVID-19 during the pandemic, resulting in or occurring during a hospital admission.
METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study using Hospital In-patient Enquiry data obtained from hospital admissions in Ireland from 2015 to 2022. VTE events were identified using International Classification of Disease codes and categorized into primary (reason for admission), secondary (arising during admission), and hospital-acquired VTE. Census data were used to calculate crude incidence rates. Secondary rates were calculated per 1000 in-patient discharges and per 1000 elective hip/knee arthroplasties.
RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2022, 51,123 adult VTE cases were recorded, with a mean annual crude incidence of 172 per 100,000 population. The mean adult primary VTE crude incidence was 98 per 100,000 and mean annual hospital-acquired VTE rate was 9.9 per 1000 discharges. Of the primary VTE cases, 15,284 (52%) were in females. A total of 218 pediatric VTE cases were identified (0.23 per 10,000 population). Pregnancy-associated VTE accounted for 2.4 VTE events per 1000 live births. The mean incidence of VTE was 11 per 1000 elective hip/knee arthroplasties.
CONCLUSION: This national report of VTE incidence in Ireland provides data on primary and secondary VTE trends. From 2020 to 2022, increases in pediatric VTE, adult pulmonary embolism, and pregnancy-associated VTE and decreases in adult deep vein thrombosis were observed, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This forms essential baseline data to inform VTE prevention, surveillance, further research, and health policy.
PMID:42598549 | PMC:PMC13471209 | DOI:10.1016/j.rpth.2026.106798