People living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are known to be at high risk of blood clots when admitted to hospital during a flare-up of their disease but now new research by scientists at The University of Nottingham has shown that those who are not admitted to hospital during flare-ups are also at risk.
The research, published in the The Lancet, could eventually mean new advice on how to reduce the risk of developing this dangerous side-effect of bowel disease.
Dr Matthew Grainge, lecturer in the University’s Department of Community Health Sciences, said: “Inflammatory bowel disease was associated with a roughly three-fold increase in the risk of venous thromboembolism. Compared with the general population while ambulatory, the risk of venous thromboembolism was increased about 16-fold for non-hospitalised patients with active inflammatory bowel disease.
“Despite the low absolute risks during non-hospitalised periods, these results suggest that active inflammatory bowel disease in ambulatory patients might be a far greater risk factor for venous thromboembolism than previously recognised.”
