Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England: a population-level analysis

Mark Hughes; Mark D Russell; Ritika Roy; Daksh Mehta; Sam Norton; Fabiola Atzeni; James B Galloway

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301

Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England: a population-level analysis

Mark Hughes, Mark D Russell, Ritika Roy, Daksh Mehta, Sam Norton, Fabiola Atzeni, James B Galloway

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) in England, and compare hospitalisation rates for pulmonary emboli (PEs) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

METHODS: Retrospective observational study.

SETTING: Secondary care in England, UK, between April 1998 and March 2022.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with hospitalisations for VTE recorded in the NHS Digital Hospital Episode Statistics dataset.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for PE, DVT and VTE overall between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2022. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of all-cause hospital admissions that were due to VTE; the proportion of all VTE hospitalisations that were recorded as primary admission diagnoses; the male/female split in hospitalisation episodes for VTE; and temporal changes in hospitalisation rates by age.

RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2022, hospitalisations for VTE increased by 62.6%, from 109.5 to 178.1 per 100 000 population. This was driven by a 202% increase in hospitalisations for PE (from 40.4 to 122.2 per 100 000 population). In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased by 19.1% over this period (from 69.1 to 55.9 per 100 000 population). Overall, VTE remained stable as a proportion of all-cause hospital admissions between 1998/1999 and 2019/2020 (0.45% and 0.43%, respectively), before increasing after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in England (0.59% in 2020/2021 and 0.51% in 2021/2022).

CONCLUSION: Hospitalisations for VTE increased markedly in England between 1998 and 2022, driven by large increases in hospitalisations for PE. In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased overall, which may reflect the success of primary care DVT management pathways. Our findings suggest that preventative measures are needed to reduce the incidence of hospitalisations for PE.

Original language	English
Article number	e090301
Pages (from-to)	e090301
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	15
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301
Publication status	Published - 29 Mar 2025

Keywords

Humans
England/epidemiology
Hospitalization/trends
Male
Female
Retrospective Studies
Middle Aged
Aged
Venous Thromboembolism/epidemiology
Venous Thrombosis/epidemiology
Adult
Pulmonary Embolism/epidemiology
COVID-19/epidemiology
Aged, 80 and over
Young Adult
Adolescent

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301

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@article{11984c5374774d0e8b2f5d39e3380c8c,

title = "Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England: a population-level analysis",

abstract = "OBJECTIVES: To describe temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) in England, and compare hospitalisation rates for pulmonary emboli (PEs) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).METHODS: Retrospective observational study.SETTING: Secondary care in England, UK, between April 1998 and March 2022.PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with hospitalisations for VTE recorded in the NHS Digital Hospital Episode Statistics dataset.PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for PE, DVT and VTE overall between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2022. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of all-cause hospital admissions that were due to VTE; the proportion of all VTE hospitalisations that were recorded as primary admission diagnoses; the male/female split in hospitalisation episodes for VTE; and temporal changes in hospitalisation rates by age.RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2022, hospitalisations for VTE increased by 62.6%, from 109.5 to 178.1 per 100 000 population. This was driven by a 202% increase in hospitalisations for PE (from 40.4 to 122.2 per 100 000 population). In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased by 19.1% over this period (from 69.1 to 55.9 per 100 000 population). Overall, VTE remained stable as a proportion of all-cause hospital admissions between 1998/1999 and 2019/2020 (0.45% and 0.43%, respectively), before increasing after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in England (0.59% in 2020/2021 and 0.51% in 2021/2022).CONCLUSION: Hospitalisations for VTE increased markedly in England between 1998 and 2022, driven by large increases in hospitalisations for PE. In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased overall, which may reflect the success of primary care DVT management pathways. Our findings suggest that preventative measures are needed to reduce the incidence of hospitalisations for PE.",

keywords = "Humans, England/epidemiology, Hospitalization/trends, Male, Female, Retrospective Studies, Middle Aged, Aged, Venous Thromboembolism/epidemiology, Venous Thrombosis/epidemiology, Adult, Pulmonary Embolism/epidemiology, COVID-19/epidemiology, Aged, 80 and over, Young Adult, Adolescent",

author = "Mark Hughes and Russell, {Mark D} and Ritika Roy and Daksh Mehta and Sam Norton and Fabiola Atzeni and Galloway, {James B}",

note = "{\textcopyright} Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

day = "29",

doi = "10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

pages = "e090301",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England

T2 - a population-level analysis

AU - Hughes, Mark

AU - Russell, Mark D

AU - Roy, Ritika

AU - Mehta, Daksh

AU - Norton, Sam

AU - Atzeni, Fabiola

AU - Galloway, James B

N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group.

PY - 2025/3/29

Y1 - 2025/3/29

N2 - OBJECTIVES: To describe temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) in England, and compare hospitalisation rates for pulmonary emboli (PEs) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).METHODS: Retrospective observational study.SETTING: Secondary care in England, UK, between April 1998 and March 2022.PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with hospitalisations for VTE recorded in the NHS Digital Hospital Episode Statistics dataset.PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for PE, DVT and VTE overall between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2022. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of all-cause hospital admissions that were due to VTE; the proportion of all VTE hospitalisations that were recorded as primary admission diagnoses; the male/female split in hospitalisation episodes for VTE; and temporal changes in hospitalisation rates by age.RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2022, hospitalisations for VTE increased by 62.6%, from 109.5 to 178.1 per 100 000 population. This was driven by a 202% increase in hospitalisations for PE (from 40.4 to 122.2 per 100 000 population). In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased by 19.1% over this period (from 69.1 to 55.9 per 100 000 population). Overall, VTE remained stable as a proportion of all-cause hospital admissions between 1998/1999 and 2019/2020 (0.45% and 0.43%, respectively), before increasing after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in England (0.59% in 2020/2021 and 0.51% in 2021/2022).CONCLUSION: Hospitalisations for VTE increased markedly in England between 1998 and 2022, driven by large increases in hospitalisations for PE. In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased overall, which may reflect the success of primary care DVT management pathways. Our findings suggest that preventative measures are needed to reduce the incidence of hospitalisations for PE.

AB - OBJECTIVES: To describe temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) in England, and compare hospitalisation rates for pulmonary emboli (PEs) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).METHODS: Retrospective observational study.SETTING: Secondary care in England, UK, between April 1998 and March 2022.PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with hospitalisations for VTE recorded in the NHS Digital Hospital Episode Statistics dataset.PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was temporal trends in hospitalisation episodes for PE, DVT and VTE overall between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2022. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of all-cause hospital admissions that were due to VTE; the proportion of all VTE hospitalisations that were recorded as primary admission diagnoses; the male/female split in hospitalisation episodes for VTE; and temporal changes in hospitalisation rates by age.RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2022, hospitalisations for VTE increased by 62.6%, from 109.5 to 178.1 per 100 000 population. This was driven by a 202% increase in hospitalisations for PE (from 40.4 to 122.2 per 100 000 population). In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased by 19.1% over this period (from 69.1 to 55.9 per 100 000 population). Overall, VTE remained stable as a proportion of all-cause hospital admissions between 1998/1999 and 2019/2020 (0.45% and 0.43%, respectively), before increasing after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in England (0.59% in 2020/2021 and 0.51% in 2021/2022).CONCLUSION: Hospitalisations for VTE increased markedly in England between 1998 and 2022, driven by large increases in hospitalisations for PE. In contrast, hospitalisations for DVT decreased overall, which may reflect the success of primary care DVT management pathways. Our findings suggest that preventative measures are needed to reduce the incidence of hospitalisations for PE.

KW - Humans

KW - England/epidemiology

KW - Hospitalization/trends

KW - Male

KW - Female

KW - Retrospective Studies

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Aged

KW - Venous Thromboembolism/epidemiology

KW - Venous Thrombosis/epidemiology

KW - Adult

KW - Pulmonary Embolism/epidemiology

KW - COVID-19/epidemiology

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Young Adult

KW - Adolescent

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U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301

M3 - Article

C2 - 40157730

SN - 2044-6055

VL - 15

SP - e090301

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

IS - 3

M1 - e090301

ER -

Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England: a population-level analysis

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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