Persistent underuse of extended venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in patients undergoing major abdominal cancer operations

Abstract

BackgroundGuidelines recommend extended venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis for high‐risk populations undergoing major abdominal cancer operations. Few studies have evaluated extended VTE prophylaxis in the Medicare population who are at higher risk due to age.MethodsWe performed a retrospective study using a 20% random sample of Medicare claims, 2012–2017. Patients ≥65 years with an abdominal cancer undergoing resection were included. Primary outcome was the proportion of patients receiving new extended VTE prophylaxis prescriptions at discharge. Secondary outcomes included postdischarge VTE and hemorrhagic events.ResultsThe study included 72 983 patients with a mean age of 75. Overall, 8.9% of patients received extended VTE prophylaxis. This proportion increased (7.2% in 2012, 10.6% in 2017; p < 0.001). Incidence of postdischarge hemorrhagic events was 1.0% in patients receiving extended VTE prophylaxis and 0.8% in those who did not. The incidence of postdischarge VTE events was 5.2% in patients receiving extended VTE prophylaxis and 2.4% in those who did not.ConclusionAdherence to guideline‐recommended extended VTE prophylaxis in high‐risk patients undergoing major abdominal cancer operations is low. The higher rate of VTE in the prophylaxis group may suggest we captured some therapeutic anticoagulation, which would mean the actual rate of thromboprophylaxis is lower than reported herein.