OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and risk category of cancer patients at Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) in Tanzania. Additionally, this study also sought to determine the utility of Khorana score and evaluate the risk factors associated with VTE development among cancer patients on chemotherapy at ORCI.

METHODS: This was a hospital based cross-sectional study conducted at ORCI from 1st February to 30th April 2020. Patients with histologically confirmed cancer scheduled for chemotherapy were enrolled and stratified into either low, intermediate or high risk based on the Khorana Score. All participants were then subjected to a doppler lower limb ultrasonography for VTE evaluation performed by one radiologist to eliminate intra-observer variability. Analysis was done using IBM SPSS software 23 version. Numeric data were summarized using measures of central tendencies such as mean and standard deviation and/or median and range.

RESULTS: A total of 78 cancer patients were enrolled. Median age was 55.5 years. 66.7% were females. Prevalence of VTE obtained was 12.8%. 57.7% of the patients were at intermediate risk of developing VTE. Among the high-risk patients, 55.6% had VTE. Sensitivity and specificity of Khorana score was found to be at 50% and 94.1 % respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that primary cancer site, high D-Dimer levels and a high Khorana score were significantly associated with VTE.

CONCLUSIONS:This study determined the prevalence of VTE among cancer patients in Tanzania to be at 12.8%, demonstrated the utility of Khorana score and also showed that the major risk factors that contributed to VTE in Tanzania are, type of cancer, high D-Dimer levels and a high Khorana score.