Summary
A large and growing body of scientific evidence exists which suggests that low molecular weight heparins are at least as effective and safe as other anticoagulants used to treat and prevent venous thromboembolism. Low molecular weight heparins offer important advantages over unfractionated heparin for the treatment of venous thromboembolism. Low molecular weight heparins can be dosed according to the patient’s weight, and monitoring of anticoagulant response is not necessary. For this reason, selected patients with deep vein thrombosis can be managed without hospitalization. The use of low molecular weight heparins to prevent venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism depends upon costs, relative risks and benefits for specific indications, and additional scientific studies which address unanswered or incompletely answered questions, such as whether preoperative dosing is superior to postoperative dosing.
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© 1999 Springer Japan
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Elliott, C.G. (1999). Low Molecular Weight Heparins. In: Nakano, T., Goldhaber, S.Z. (eds) Pulmonary Embolism. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-66893-0_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-66893-0_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
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