Inferior vena cava filters do not increase the risk of blood stream infections in patients with newly diagnosed VTE

• Published in: American journal of infection control Vol. 48; no. 12; pp. 1491 - 1496
• Main Authors: Chua, Abigail T., Murphy, Charles G., Hameed, Shahistha, Weston, Gregory, Abramowitz, Matthew, Gershengorn, Hayley, Fein, Daniel G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2020
• Subjects: Bacteremia; Deep vein thrombosis; Inferior vena cava filter; IVC; Venous thromboembolism; Deep vein thrombosis; Inferior vena cava filter; Bacteremia; Venous thromboembolism; IVC
• ISSN: 0196-6553; 1527-3296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.05.029

•We have found that in patients with a new diagnosis of venous thromboembolism, presence of an IVC filter was not associated with an increased incidence of bloodstream infection after 1 year.•This is the first study to compare the rates of infection between patients who have had an IVC filter and patients who have suffered from venous thromboembolism but who have not have had a filter placed.•Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and gram negative bacilli were the most commonly cultured infectious organisms in our study, regardless of if the patient had an IVC filter present or not. The association between inferior vena cava (IVC) filter presence and subsequent bloodstream infection (BSI) is unknown. We hypothesized among patients with a new diagnosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE), incidence of BSI after 1 year would be higher in patients who had presence of an IVC filter. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with newly diagnosed VTE but no IVC filter (N = 4,053) and patients with IVC filter (N = 635) admitted to a metropolitan hospital system from 2006 to 2009 comparing incidence of BSI within 1 year of inclusion. Multivariable regression modeling was used to evaluate the association of IVC filter placement with BSI 1 year after placement. Patients with an IVC filter placed were more likely to be older with higher Charlson co-morbidity score (median 4 vs 1; P < .001). The incidence of BSI was not different between the group with IVC filter and the group without (10.7% vs 8.8%; P = .12). There was no association with IVC filter placement and BSI before or after multivariable adjustment. In patients newly diagnosed with VTE, we found no association between IVC filter placement and increased incidence of BSI after 1 year.