Pre-op anticoagulation reduces VTE risk in cancer patients
Researchers found that rates of DVT and PE were significantly lower among patients who received preoperative chemoprophylaxis than in those who did not.
Anna GarrettVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent cause of morbidity during cancer treatment, and although a number of studies have found that postoperative anticoagulation decreases rates of VTE in surgical oncology patients, the effect of adding preoperative anticoagulation to postoperative VTE prophylaxis is largely unknown.
Now researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have found that rates of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism were significantly lower among patients who received preoperative chemoprophylaxis than in those who did not.
Investigators selected 2,058 patients who were undergoing major cancer surgery to receive preoperative VTE prophylaxis of either low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) (40 mg enoxaparin) or unfractionated heparin (5,000 units). Anticoagulation was administered in the preoperative holding area by the nursing staff within two hours of surgery.
Bleeding, transfusion, and VTE rates were compared with those of 4,960 historical controls who did not receive preoperative VTE chemoprophylaxis.
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