The impact of adopting low-molecular-weight heparin in place of aspirin as routine thromboprophylaxis for patients with hip fracture

Poacher, Arwel T., Hoskins, Hannah C., Protty, Majd B., Pettit, Rebecca and Johansen, Antony 2022. The impact of adopting low-molecular-weight heparin in place of aspirin as routine thromboprophylaxis for patients with hip fracture. Postgraduate Medical Journal , 141628. 10.1136/postgradmedj-2022-141628

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Abstract

Purpose of the study In 2010, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the use of anticoagulants rather than aspirin as pharmacological thromboprophylaxis after hip fracture. We examine the impact of implementing this change in guidance on the clinical incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Study design Demographic, radiographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected for 5039 patients admitted to a single tertiary centre in the UK for hip fracture between 2007 and 2017. We calculated rates of lower-limb DVT and examined the impact of the June 2010 change of departmental policy, from use of aspirin to use of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH) in hip fracture patients. Results Doppler scans were performed in 400 patients in the 180 days after a hip fracture, and identified 40 ipsilateral and 14 contralateral DVTs (p<0.001). The rate of DVT reduced significantly following the 2010 change in departmental policy from aspirin to LMWH in these patients (1.62% vs 0.83%, p<0.05). Conclusions The rate of clinical DVT halved following the change from aspirin to LMWH for pharmacological thromboprophylaxis, but the number needed to treat was 127. A figure of <1% for the incidence of clinical DVT in a unit that routinely uses LMWH monotherapy following hip fracture provides a context for discussions of alternative strategies, and for power calculations for future research. These figures are important to policy makers and to researchers as they will inform the design of the comparative studies on thromboprophylaxis agents for which NICE has called.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Publisher:	BMJ Publishing Group
ISSN:	0032-5473
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 January 2023
Date of Acceptance:	11 March 2022
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2024 01:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/149169

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