Prevalence of venous thromboembolism risk factors and prophylactic adequacy among general surgical patients in a tertiary care hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a disease manifested as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. General surgical procedures are associated with significant risk of precipitating VTE, and despite the surging evidences, it is often overlooked. The study attempted at estimating the prevalence of VTE and bleeding risk factors coupled with the adequacy of thromboprophylaxis administered.

METHODOLOGY: The study spanning 1-year duration was executed through collection of data from patients older than 18 years, admitted to the general surgery department of a tertiary care hospital. The data were collected using internally validated data collection form and the appraisal of data was done using SPSS 18.

RESULTS: Among the 400 subjects enrolled, number of patients in low, moderate, and high risk, as per the Caprini score, was 24%, 35%, and 41%, respectively, with the difference being significant with p<0.001. Bleeding risk was positive in 28% subjects and 36% received any form of prophylaxis other than early ambulation. 28% subjects were identified to have received adequate thromboprophylaxis.

CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence of 41% individuals at high risk for VTE is comparable to the global prevalence of 41.5%, prophylactic adequacy of 28% was lower than the 33% observed globally. Meticulous planning coupled with operational interventions, such as institutional multidisciplinary thromboprophylactic team, can be an effective strategy at enhancing the prophylactic standards and thereby attaining optimal patient outcomes.