Overview of the Management of Thrombotic Disorders

Guide to Anticoagulant Therapy: Heparin

“…123 The use of lowdose heparin is associated with a small excess incidence of wound hematoma [122][123][124] and a minimal, statistically insignificant increase in major bleeding but no increase in fatal bleeding. Low-dose heparin also effectively prevents venous thromboembolism in patients with MI and in those with other serious medical disorders, 125 and it reduced in-hospital mortality by 31% (PϽ0.05) in a study of 1358 general medical patients aged Ͼ40 years. 126 Although low-dose heparin is also effective in reducing DVT after hip surgery, 123 the incidence of thrombosis remains substantial (20% to 30%) and can be reduced further with either adjusted low-dose heparin 127 or fixed-dose LMWH.…”