Recent SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to surgery almost doubles the risk of postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) and ups the risk of death compared with not having the infection, a major international study shows.

The UK-led study involving collaboration among 15,000 surgeons from 115 countries found adult patients who had experienced infection with the virus and developed VTE had a more than fivefold increased risk of death post-surgery.

Study co-author Dr Elizabeth Li, a general surgery registrar at University Hospital Birmingham, said the group’s findings underscored the lingering threat posed by COVID-19.

“Surgical patients have risk factors for VTE, including immobility, surgical wounds and systemic inflammation – and the addition of SARS-CoV-2 infection may further increase this risk,” she said.