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What Is Thrombophlebitis?
Thrombophlebitis (pronounced thrahm-bow-fleh-bye-tis) occurs mostly in the legs. It is a circulatory problem that develops when a blood clot slows the circulation in a vein, either right under the skin or deeper in the leg.
The name gives you a hint about what it is: Thrombo means clot.
Phlebitis means a vein with inflammation, or the swelling and irritation that happens as the result of an injury.
With thrombophlebitis, the blocked vein becomes swollen, irritated, and even hard to the touch. While most cases involving the shallow leg veins begin to resolve by themselves in a week or two, in rare occasions, some cases can lead to infection and tissue damage from the loss of healthy circulation. And when the deeper veins are involved, there is the risk a portion of the clot could break off and enter the bloodstream, where it could travel far from the injury site and cause serious problems or even death if it reaches the heart or lungs and blocks circulation there.
In the more serious cases, people with thrombophlebitis need to be treated with drugs to melt the clot, lessen the swelling, and treat any infection that may have developed.
What Causes Thrombophlebitis?
First, you need a blood clot. They can result from many different things, but many times, the common theme is the blood not moving the way it should. You could be sitting down for a long time in a place where you can't stretch out your legs, such as on a long car ride. Blood sits, too, and it is more likely to form clots. This is where sitting elbow-to-elbow with your fellow airline travelers on a long flight (dubbed economy class syndrome) can be a problem. They can also occur with extensive bed rest after surgery.
But other things can cause this condition as well, such as varicose veins. The vessels are stretched out too much, allowing blood to swish back and forth instead of streaming in one direction. That swishing of the blood can lead to blood clots.
People also could develop thrombophlebitis as a complication of intravenous tubes, or IVs. The hospital staff will try to lower the risk of this happening by changing the spots where the lines are injected into the body and by checking for problems, but thrombophlebitis still is possible. Also, pregnant women may develop thrombophlebitis before or shortly after the baby is born.
Other risk factors include certain cancers, use of the hormone estrogen (for either birth control or hormone replacement) and family history of blood clots.
Medically reviewed by Tracy Shuman, MD, July 2005.
SOURCES: The Mayo Clinic. Answers.com
© 2005 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
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