Objective: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a life threating complication in intensive care units (ICUs). This study aimed to pool the prevalence of VTE and examined the risk factors of VTE in intensive care patients worldwide. Methods: A systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases was performed. Studies reported that the data on the prevalence of VTE or relevant information were synthesized using a random-effects model. Results: A total of 42 studies reporting on 27,344 patients were included. The pooled prevalence of VTE was 10.0% (95% CI: 7.0–14.0%). Subgroup and metaregression analyses found that thromboprophylaxis strategy, simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II), age, study quality, sample size, malignancy, sex, spinal cord injury and injury severity score (ISS) moderated the prevalence of VTE in intensive care patients. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis revealed a high prevalence of VTE in critically ill patients. The risk factors of VTE included thromboprophylaxis strategy, SAPS II, age, malignancy, sex, spinal cord injury and ISS. Therefore, we need to pay more attention to high-risk populations of VTE in intensive care patients.

Background: The treatment of posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms is controversial. Recently, flow diverters have emerged as an attractive treatment option. Here, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the angiographic and clinical outcomes of flow diverter-treated posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms. Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases for studies published from inception to January 2021. We included studies that described flow diverters procedures for posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms with ≥2 patients. The outcomes were the complete occlusion rate and flow diverter-related complication rate. Meta-analysis was performed using a random or fixed effects model based on heterogeneity. Results: We included six studies involving 46 posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms. There were 14 ruptured aneurysms. All flow diverters were successfully released and the technical success rate was 100%. The complete occlusion rate was 81% (95% confidence interval = 65–93%; I² = 0.00%; P < 0.01). The flow diverter-related complication rate was 18% (95% confidence interval = 5–36%; I² = 0.00%; P < 0.01). One patient died of rebleeding. The mortality rate was <1% (95% confidence interval = -1–1%; I² = 0.00%; P = 0.951). Conclusions: Treatment of posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms with flow diverters is feasible and carries a high degree of technical success. However, this treatment is underutilized in patients with posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms due to a higher complication rate and lower occlusion rate compared with clipping and traditional endovascular treatment. Further well-designed prospective and randomized studies are required to fully understand the effects of flow diverters especially in posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms patients requiring endovascular treatment.