Also called: Also called: Deep vein thrombosis, DVT, Phlebitis, Venous thrombosis
Thrombophlebitis is swelling of a vein caused by a blood clot. It usually occurs in your legs. If the affected vein is just beneath the skin, the condition is usually not dangerous. A clot in a deeper vein, called deep vein thrombosis, can break loose and cause a serious problem in the lung, called a pulmonary embolism, or a heart attack or stroke.
Sitting still for a long time can make you more likely to get thrombophlebitis. Some medicines and disorders that increase your risk for blood clots can also lead to thrombophlebitis. Common symptoms are
- Warmth and tenderness over the vein
- Pain or swelling in the part of the body affected
- Skin redness
Treatment includes medicines to ease pain and inflammation, break up clots and keep new clots from forming. Keeping the affected area raised and applying moist heat can also help. If you are taking a long car or plane trip, take a break, walk or stretch your legs and drink plenty of liquids.
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Deep Vein Thrombosis
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Dvt/DVT_WhatIs.html
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JAMA Patient Page: Thrombophlebitis(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/296/4/468.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/294/6/762/DC1/1
- Thrombophlebitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/thrombophlebitis/DS00223/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Migraine Sufferers Face Greater Blood Clot Risk(09/15/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69298.html
- Are You At Risk for Deep Vein Thrombosis?(09/15/2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Thrombosis/
- Broad Screening of Blood Clots May Find Cancers Earlier(09/12/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69242.html
- Finding May Allow Some Women to Stop Blood Thinners(08/25/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68523.html
- More News on Thrombophlebitis http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_t.html#thrombophlebitis
- About Your Exam - Doppler(American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine) - http://www.aium.org/patient/aboutExam/doppler.asp
- Angiogram(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Angiogram.html
- Ankle Blood Pressure Measurement (ABI)(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Ankle_Blood_Pressure_Measurement_ABI.html
- D-dimer(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/d_dimer/test.html
- Duplex Ultrasound(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Duplex_Ultrasound.html
- Catheter-directed Thrombolysis(Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=thrombo&bhcp=1
- Thrombolytic Therapy(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Thrombolytic_Therapy.html
- Warfarin: Any Harm in Long-Term Use?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/warfarin/HQ01614/METHOD=print
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What Are Anticoagulants and Antiplatelet Agents?
(American Heart Association) - Links to PDF - http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1196965757160AnticoagandAntiplat.pdf
- Your Guide to Coumadin/Warfarin Therapy(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/coumadin.htm
- Daily Aspirin Therapy: Understand the Benefits and Risks(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/daily-aspirin-therapy/HB00073/METHOD=print
- Prevention of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism(American Heart Association) - Links to PDF - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/110/16/e445.pdf
- Deep Vein Thrombosis Overview(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://www.sirweb.org/patients/deep-vein-thrombosis/
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Deep Vein Thrombosis: What You Should Know(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/seniors/common-older/800.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/seniors/common-older/800.printerview.html
- Economy-Class Syndrome and Deep Vein Thrombosis(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3010041
- Focus on Blood Clots(Vascular Disease Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.vdf.org/pdfs/VDF_FocusOnBloodClots.pdf
- Superficial Thrombophlebitis(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch036/ch036c.html
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Your Guide to Preventing and Treating Blood Clots(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/bloodclots.htm
- Chronic Venous Insufficiency(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Chronic_Venous_Insufficiency.html
- Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia(American Heart Association) - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/114/8/e355
- Preventing and Treating Blood Clots in Cancer Patients(American Society of Clinical Oncology) - http://www.cancer.net/patient/ASCO+Resources/Patient+Guides/ASCO+Patient+Guide%3A+Preventing+and+Treating+Blood+Clots
- Updated Labeling for Coumadin (Warfarin)(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/warfarin081707.html
- Venous Access(Society for Vascular Surgery) - http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Venous_Access.html
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Coumadin - Introduction(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/coumadinintroduction/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/coumadinintroductionspanish/htm/index.htm
- Atlas of the Body: The Circulatory System -- Venous(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZG57C56JC&sub_cat=510
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Phlebitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Phlebitis%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Thrombophlebitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Thrombophlebitis%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Venous Thrombosis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Venous+Thrombosis%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Lemierre syndrome and descending necrotizing mediastinitis following dental extraction. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18634963&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Superficial vein thrombophlebitis--serious concern or much ado about little? - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18512540&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Bilateral phlegmasia dolens associated with Trousseau's syndrome: a case report. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18503818&tool=MedlinePlus
- Thrombophlebitis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=thrombophlebitis[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Deep vein thrombosis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(venous+thrombosis[majr]+NOT+thrombophlebitis[majr])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Thrombophlebitis - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=Thrombophlebitis
- Find an Interventional Radiologist(Society of Interventional Radiology) - http://members.sirweb.org/eseries/scriptcontent/index_members_search.cfm?section=customer
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Peripheral Arterial Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/peripheralarterialdisease.html
- Pulmonary Embolism - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pulmonaryembolism.html
- Vascular Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vasculardiseases.html
- Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Thrombophlebitis is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
Thrombophlebitis - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/thrombophlebitis.html