Effect of postthrombotic syndrome on health-related quality of life after deep venous thrombosis

Background: Postthrombotic syndrome (PTS) is a frequent chronic complication of deep venous thrombosis, yet its impact on health-related quality of life has not been well characterized. We compared generic and venous disease-specific quality of life in patients with and without PTS, and assessed whether quality of life correlated with severity of PTS. Methods: Subjects with previous deep venous thrombosis were participants in a study of the effects of exercise after deep venous thrombosis. We ascertained PTS and its severity using a validated clinical scale. Subjects completed generic (the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey) and disease-specific (Venous Insufficiency Epidemiologic and Economic Study quality-of-life questionnaire [VEINES-QOL] and its validated subscale of 10 items on venous symptoms [ VEINES-Sym]) quality-of-life measures. Age- and sex-adjusted mean quality-of-life scores were compared in patients with and without PTS, and by severity of PTS. Results: Of the 41 subjects (mean age, 51.2 years), 19 (46%) had PTS. Subjects with PTS had significantly worse disease-specific qualily-of-life scores than those without PTS (mean+/-SD VEINES-QOL score, 44.5+/-11.6 vs 54.8+/-5.4, respectively [P<.001]; mean+/-SD VEINES-Sym score, 45.6+/-11.4 vs 54.1+/-6.7, respectively [P =.003]), which worsened significantly with increasing severity of PTS. We found no differences in generic quality-of-life scores between subject groups. Conclusions: Postthrombotic syndrome has a significant impact on disease-specific quality of life that may not be captured by generic quality-of-life measures. Patient-based quality-of-life measures correlated well with physician-assessed PTS. Further research is indicated to assess the value of including quality of life as a routine measure of outcome in clinical studies of patients with deep venous thrombosis and PTS.