Current prevalence of perioperative early venous thromboembolism and risk factors in Chinese adult patients with inguinal hernia (CHAT-1)

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important postoperative complication. We investigated and analyzed the current inguinal hernia treatment methods and occurrence of early postoperative VTE in Chinese adults. This study involved data for patients with inguinal hernia hospitalized in 58 general hospitals in mainland China from January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2017. Data were retrospectively analyzed using a questionnaire. After data inputting and cleaning, we stratified and statistically analyzed patients' data using Caprini scores to create a high-, middle-, and low-risk group. A total of 14,322 patients with inguinal hernia were admitted to the 58 participating hospitals. After data collation and cleaning, 13,886 patients (97.0%) met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The percentages of laparoscopic surgery and open surgery were 51.2% and 48.8%, respectively. 16 VTEs occurred during the hospitalization, accounting for 0.1% of all adverse events (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.11-0.13). The incidence of VTE was 0.2% (95% CI 0.18-0.2) in the high-risk group and 0.02% (95% CI 0.01-0.03) in the middle-risk group, based on Caprini scoring, with a significant difference (p < 0.0001). No VTE occurred in the low-risk group. Only 3,250 (23.4%) patients underwent Caprini risk assessment regarding treatment, with 13.2% receiving any prevention and only 1.2% receiving appropriate prevention. The treatment of inguinal hernia in Chinese adults has progressed somewhat; however, the evaluation and prevention of perioperative VTE was seriously neglected, in our study, and the incidence of postoperative VTE was underestimated postoperatively. Risk factors continue to be inadequately considered.

Prevalence and risk factors of venous thromboembolism in postoperative patients: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) in postoperative patients.

METHODS

This descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study was conducted from August 2016 to October 2016 at two university hospitals and one public hospital. Total 217,354 patients records who underwent surgery in between 2010 and 2015 were examined. The study sample consisted of 123 patients who had postoperative venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and whose discharge details, consultation data, diagnostic reports, and tests were examined in detail.

RESULTS

The prevalence of VTE in postoperative patients was 5.6/10,000. The mean age of the patients was 60.22±18.56 years. Of 123 patients, 51.20% were male, 30.90% were smokers, 46.30% had a comorbid disease, and 27.60% were diagnosed with cancer. Of the patients who had postoperative VTE, 65.0% had major surgery. Pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis was used in only 24.4% of patients (n=30).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of VTE in the present study is lower than that in other studies. Because surgery is a risk factor for VTE, patients who will be operated should be assessed. Considering the present results, we can assume that patients' conditions are not being assessed appropriately. In addition, findings indicate that a standard for preventing VTE has not yet been established.

VTE Risk Profiles and Prophylaxis in Medical and Surgical Inpatients: The Identification of Chinese Hospitalized Patients' Risk Profile for Venous Thromboembolism (DissolVE-2)-A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Limited data exist on VTE risk and prophylaxis in Chinese inpatients. The Identification of Chinese Hospitalized Patients' Risk Profile for Venous Thromboembolism-2 (DissolVE-2), a nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional study, was therefore designed to investigate prevalence of VTE risks and evaluate VTE prophylaxis implementation compliant with the latest prophylaxis guidelines (American College of Chest Physicians [CHEST], 9th edition).

METHODS

Adults admitted (≥ 72 h) to 60 urban, tertiary Chinese hospitals due to acute medical conditions or surgery from March to September 2016 were assessed for VTE risk. Risk assessments were made by using the Padua Prediction Scoring or Caprini Risk Assessment model, risk factors, and prophylaxis based on the CHEST guidelines, 9th edition.

RESULTS

A total of 13,609 patients (6,986 surgical and 6,623 medical) were analyzed. VTE risk in surgical inpatients was categorized as low (13.9%; 95% CI, 13.1-14.7), moderate (32.7%; 95% CI, 31.6-33.8), and high (53.4%; 95% CI, 52.2-54.6); risk in medical patients was categorized as low (63.4%; 95% CI, 62.2-64.6) and high (36.6%; 95% CI, 35.4-37.8). Major risk factors in surgical and medical patients were major open surgery (52.6%) and acute infection (42.2%), respectively. Overall rate of any prophylaxis and appropriate prophylactic method was 14.3% (19.0% vs 9.3%) and 10.3% (11.8% vs 6.0%) in surgical and medical patients.

CONCLUSIONS

A large proportion of hospitalized patients reported VTE risk and low rate of CHEST-recommended prophylaxis. The data highlight the insufficient management of VTE risk and show the great potential for improving physicians' awareness and current practices across China.

TRIAL REGISTRY

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry; No.: ChiCTR-OOC-16010187; URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=17077.

Variation in Definitions of Immobility in Pharmacological Thromboprophylaxis Clinical Trials in Medical Inpatients: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Although immobility is a common risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in medical inpatients, lack of a consistent definition of this term may limit accurate assessment of VTE risk for thromboprophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE

To examine various definitions of immobility used in recent pharmacological thromboprophylaxis clinical trials.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed and relevant references from articles/reviews from 2008 to 2016 were searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and other clinical studies involving adult hospitalized medical patients in acute care hospital settings that used the term immobility were selected. Two investigators independently abstracted data in duplicate, and accuracy was checked by a third investigator.

RESULTS

Twenty-one clinical studies were included. There was heterogeneity among individual VTE risk factors, with respect to the definition of immobility in medical inpatients in these trials. Thirteen studies utilized objective criteria to define "immobility" including duration (12 studies) and distance or time walked (6 studies). In contrast, 7 studies focused principally on subjective definitions (ie, describing the nature of immobility rather than specifying its quantitative measurement). Three RCTs vaguely defined the level of patient's immobility after hospitalization.

CONCLUSION

Despite the well-known effectiveness of pharmacological thromboprophylaxis for the prevention of VTE in acutely ill medical patients, there is no current consensus on how to define immobility. The heterogeneous nature of definitions of immobility has led to uncertainty about the importance of immobility in VTE risk assessment models. Although clinical studies have incorporated varying definitions of immobility into their inclusion criteria, immobility as a specific VTE risk factor has not been clearly defined.

Evaluation of the Practice Pattern of Medical Patients’ VTE Prophylaxis With a Standard Risk Assessment Model Form

Hospitalized acutely ill patients face high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) unless appropriate thromboprophylaxis is applied. This study aimed to determine VTE prophylaxis practices for inpatients in Turkey and to evaluate the impact of physicians’ training via a modified “Standard Medical Patients’ VTE Risk Assessment Model (MERAM).” A total of 607 inpatients included in this national multicenter noninterventional observational registry were evaluated in terms of demographics, VTE risk, and preventive measures at 2 consecutive cross-sectional visits. Physicians were asked to complete a questionnaire on current VTE method risk assessment and other models including MERAM. The VTE prophylaxis rates significantly increased from 49.4% to 62.4% between visits ( P < .05). The lack of risk evaluation decreased from 74.6% to 19.5% ( P < .001). Percentage of physicians using prophylaxis and use of MERAM increased between visits. Physician training proved effective for providing general “awareness” of VTE prophylaxis and led to higher rates of risk assessment model-based appropriate VTE prophylaxis.