Deep Venous Thrombosis in the Operative Rehabilitation Patient

Abstract

Venous thromboembolic disease remains a particularly common source of morbidity in hospitalized patients and is considered one of the most common preventable causes of hospital death, accounting for 50–75,000 of the 200,000 venous thromboembolic (VTE) deaths per year in the USA [1]. The principal determinant of VTE risk seems to be the patient’s indication for hospitalization; hence, all studies of this risk have been based upon comparison of different groups based on a group risk assignment. Moreover, most thrombophylaxis trials have employed venous imaging and invasive venograms as a marker for DVT, rather than symptoms, duplex findings, pulmonary embolism (PE), or fatal PE. The goal of thrombophylaxis in patients undergoing any type of surgery must therefore be to accurately assess DVT risk, understand the types and benefit of therapy, and balance the benefit of prophylaxis with the associated risk of complications, namely, bleeding.