Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in Surgical Patients

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication of surgical procedures. The risk for VTE in surgical patients is determined by the combination of individual predisposing factors and the specific type of surgery. Prophylaxis with mechanical and pharmacological methods has been shown to be effective and safe in most types of surgery and should be routinely implemented. For patients undergoing general, gynecologic, vascular, and major urologic surgery, low-dose unfractionated heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) are the options of choice. For low-risk urologic surgery, early postoperative mobilization of patients is the only intervention warranted. For higher-risk patients, including those undergoing elective hip or knee replacement and surgery for hip fracture, vitamin K antagonists, LMWH, or fondaparinux are recommended. For patients undergoing neurosurgery, graduated elastic stockings are effective and safe and may be combined with LMWH to further reduce the risk of VTE. The role of prophy...

This publication has 64 references indexed in Scilit: