Determination of the frequency of prophylaxis utilization against deep vein thrombosis among patients hospitalized in surgical wards of Imam Khomeini Teaching Hospital

Annually a large number of patients are hospitalized for benign diseases, but some die due to pulmonary embolism. However, with the proper prophylaxis can be avoided death. The current survey aimed to determine the frequency percentage of prophylaxis usage against deep vein thrombosis (DVT) according to the American College of Chest Physicians ACCP Guidelines.
This study is a retrospective descriptive study. The sampling was done and the participants were selected among the patients hospitalized in surgical wards of Imam Khomeini hospital in Ilam during the March of 2012 to September of 2013. The appropriate type, dose, and duration of thromboprophylaxis were determined by ACCP Guidelines. After investigating the inclusion and exclusion criteria, necessary data were extracted. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS software version 17.
A total of 169 patients (78 female) entered this survey. Findings showed that from 132 patients needed to receive prophylaxis, only 39 (29.5%) received prophylaxis. According to ACCP Guidelines, prophylaxis in 30 patients (22.7%) was operated correctly. The maximum rate of thrombo-prophylaxis happened to be in ICU (46.6%) and neurosurgery section (47.5%) and the minimum utilization pertained to the kidney and urinary tract surgery wards (0%).
This study showed a considerable difference in clinical practice versus ACCP recommendations in prophylaxis against DVT. About 75% of patients had risk of DVT and thrombo-prophylaxis according to ACCP Guidelines was not operated. Thus, new strategies must be implemented to operate thrombo-prophylaxis against DVT.