Loading...
The prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized patients has been a major goal of mandated quality-improvement programs. To determine the effectiveness of such programs, Mayo Clinic investigators conducted a population-based cohort study that recorded the number of VTE events related to hospitalization in Olmsted County Minnesota residents from 2005 through 2010.
Anticoagulant prophylaxis was prescribed for 66% of patients, and 21% received sequential compression devices. The use of prophylaxis increased from 40% to 90% during the study period.
The annual age- and sex-adjusted in-hospital VTE attack rate ranged from 251 to 306 per 10,000 person-years, and did not decline significantly during the 6-year study period, despite the…