Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Venous thromboembolism risk following surgery during the COVID ‐19 pandemic
Authors' conclusion
SARS-CoV-2 infection status and vaccination history were associated with 90-day venous thromboembolism risk, with both recent and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with an increased risk, whilst one dose of vaccine reduced the risk.
Study context
- Population
- Patients having abdominal, obstetric, orthopaedic, cardiac, thoracic or vascular surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic1,800,540 procedures
- Exposure
- SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination status vs none
- Outcome
- Postoperative VTE
- Follow-up
- 90 days
Methodological detailsOpenSAFELY-TPP platform
- OpenSAFELY-TPP platform
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
90-day postoperative VTE
Adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection vs No infection
4.42(4.21–4.64)
Recent SARS-CoV-2 infection vs No infection
4.03(3.78–4.30)
Single vaccine dose20% relative risk reduction
0.80(0.76–0.84)
- VTE events within 90 days
- 15,390
- Highest crude absolute risk, Alpha wave
- 1.2%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Venous thromboembolism risk following surgery during the COVID ‐19 pandemic. Anaesthesia. Published 3 December 2025. doi:10.
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