Introduction

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and subsequent pulmonary embolism (PE) remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in spinal cord injured (SCI) patient. The incidence of DVT has been reported by various authors to range between 9% to 100% during the acute stage of SCI, with most occurring in the first 2 weeks post-injury, sometimes leading to a pulmonary embolism which remains a common cause of death (Tribe 1963; Walsh & Tribe 1965; Watson 1968; Stover et al. 1983; Winchelli et al. 1996; Aito et al. 2000; Chiou-Tan et al. 2003).

Teasell RW, Hsieh JTC, Mehta S, Aubut J, Eng JJ, Krassioukov A, Tu L (2010). Venous Thromboembolism Following Spinal Cord Injury. In Eng JJ, Teasell RW, Miller WC, Wolfe DL, Townson AF, Hsieh JTC, Connolly SJ, Mehta S, Sakakibara BM, editors. Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence. Version 3.0.