Background: In the majority of the cases of portal vein thrombosis in India, the etiology cannot be determined. A high level of factor VIII (FVIII) is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism.
Methods: In this study from South India, FVIII was estimated in 32 patients with idiopathic portal vein thrombosis (PVT), 12 healthy controls and 12 disease controls with chronic liver disease.
Results: Eighty-four percent of the patients with portal vein thrombosis (27/32) vs 17% of healthy controls (2/12) had high factor VIII levels (P <.0001). FVIII levels were significantly different between the subset of PVT patients with normal liver function compared with healthy controls (P <.001) and also between the subset of PVT patients with abnormal liver function compared with disease controls (P <.05).
Conclusions: A high factor VIII level seems to contribute to the development of portal vein thrombosis in India.