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Multicentre hospital drug utilization study on the prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism. The Venous Thromboembolism Study Group of the Spanish Society of Clinical Pharmacology.
Author(s) -
Valles JA,
Vallano A,
Torres F,
Arnau JM,
Laporte JR
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1994.tb04272.x
Subject(s) - medicine , venous thromboembolism , low molecular weight heparin , drug , heparin , surgery , emergency medicine , intensive care medicine , thrombosis , pharmacology
1. Thromboembolic disease (TED) is an important cause of in‐hospital morbidity and mortality. Although different prophylactic approaches have been shown to be effective and cost‐effective, surveys have suggested that they are underused. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of use of TED prophylaxis in our hospitals. 2. All patients admitted on a specified day to the Internal Medicine and General Surgery wards of seven Spanish university hospitals were included in the study. They were identified cross‐sectionally and followed up until discharge or for 15 days. Information about the following variables was collected: risk factors for venous thromboembolism, prophylactic measures used (if any), contraindications to the use of each specific drug or other prophylactic measure, and dosage schedule of the drug used, if any. 3. Nine hundred and thirty‐ nine patients (53% men) were studied. The most common risk factors for venous thromboembolism were: age > or = 40 years (802; 85%), major surgery (298; 32%), immobilization > or = 6 days (285; 30%), obesity (241; 26%), and cancer (202; 22%). 4. Prophylactic measures were used in 320 patients (34%). Of these, 297 (93%) received heparin, mainly as low molecular weight heparins (248, 78%); physical measures were rarely used. 5. Five hundred and eighty‐three patients (62%) fulfilled criteria for moderate or high risk of venous thromboembolism; only 275 (47%) of them received any form of prophylaxis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)