[Does the time from symptoms onset to treatment impact further development of vein thrombosis in the leg?].

Introduction: It is unknown how many days pass from the symptom onset to anticoagulation therapy of vein thrombosis (VT) in the leg in our country and whether this time has an impact on further development of the disease.

Methods: Among patients treated at our department in recent years for deep vein thrombosis in the leg, we selected 50 patients with the required data available. In each case the diagnosis was confirmed by duplex sonography. The mean age was 51 years and the group included 31 males and 19 females. Proximal VT was found in 72 % of the patients. Idiopathic VT was found in 38 % of the patients. The patients were followed for 3-6 months.

Results: The mean time to initiation of VT therapy was 10 days, range 1-42 days, median 7 days. Two thirds of the patients were treated with novel oral anticoagulants. Residual VT (incomplete recanalization) was present after 1-2 months of the therapy in 40.9 %, and after 3-6 months in 25 % of the patients. The positive relationship between the time to treatment and residual VT was significant both after 1-2 months of therapy (p < 0.05) and after 3-6 months of therapy (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The time to VT treatment is clearly longer in our country compared to other countries. Delayed onset of treatment reduces the success rate of the therapy as assessed by an increased risk of residual thrombosis in the affected veins in subsequent months. Key words: delayed diagnosis - residual vein thrombosis - vein thrombosis.