Epidemiology

The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) rates thromboprophylaxis the number one patient safety strategy for patients admitted to the hospital.[2] Patients admitted to the hospital are increasingly burdened with disease, and immobilization contributes to making them prime candidates for the development of VTE. VTE is one of the most common and preventable complications of hospitalization. The rate of asymptomatic hospital-acquired deep vein thrombosis (DVT), if thromboprophylaxis is not used, is 10% to 40% after general surgery and 40% to 60% after hip surgery. The rate of symptomatic VTE is up to 5% (or more) of medical and surgical patients if thromboprophylaxis is not used.[3]​​​ Pulmonary embolism (PE) remains the most common cause of preventable in-hospital death in the US, according to the AHRQ.[2] Postoperative VTE was also the second most-common cause of excess length of stay in the hospital in a large US-based study.[4] Moreover, treatment of PE or DVT entails at least 3 months of anticoagulation with significant risk of bleeding.[3]​ Even with adequate anticoagulation, a significant proportion of patients develop long-term complications. About 3% of patients with PE develop chronic pulmonary hypertension, and 20% to 50% of patients with DVT develop post-thrombotic syndrome (also known as postphlebitic syndrome).[5][6][7]

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