A Cross-sectional Study of the Assessment of Venous Thromboembolism Risk and Use of Anticoagulant Thromboprophylaxis

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common and preventable disease among non-surgical hospitalized patients. Its incidence is high and alarming. Acute medical patients have VTE risk during and after hospitalization. The Padua prediction score is a risk model created to identify high VTE risk patients among non-surgical hospitalized patients. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of 107 patients admitted to Internal Medicine wards who were assessed as acutely ill patients at Emergency Department, in a period of 4 weeks. The demographic and clinical data were collected using a designed questionnaire. VTE risk was defined as having a Padua Prediction score of ≥4 points. A statistical analysis was done to determine prevalence. The patients at high VTE risk received thromboprophylaxis. Results: One hundred and seven eligible patients were included. 84% were found to be at high risk for VTE. Among physiologically unstable patients, 60% of the patients were classified in red color during the time of triage; this means they were severely sick and needed resuscitation. Among the leading diagnosis, severe pneumonia was predominant (29%). Severe pneumonia and uncontrolled DM showed a significant association with high VTE risk. 11.1% of high VTE risk patients were taking anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis prior to the recruitment. Conclusion:This study demonstrated a high prevalence of VTE risk among acute ill medical patients and underuse of anticoagulants for thromboprophylaxis in potential patients at Kigali University Teaching Hospital, CHUK. The Padua prediction score should be implemented for early detection of patients at-risk of VTE in severely ill patients and to start anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis on time for reducing mortality and morbidity. Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2022-0401-5 Full Text: PDF