A Survey of Thromboprophylaxis Management in Patients with Major Trauma

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common life-threatening complication of major trauma. Although clinical guidelines clearly suggest routine VTE prevention with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in this specific group of patients, there is still a lack of strong recommendations regarding the timing and the modality of heparin administration and the role of mechanical prophylaxis. We tested the hypothesis that there is significant practice variation in thromboprophylaxis management of patients with major trauma among intensive care unit (ICU) specialists.