Safety of the Trauma Quality Improvement Program Guideline for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Background The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) provides a guideline for when to initiate pharmacologic venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. We hypothesized that implementation of the guideline would not result in progression in intracranial hemorrhage. Methods The TBI TQIP guideline was implemented at a Level I Trauma Center. Patients with a stable Computerized tomography (CT) of the brain were started on chemical prophylaxis per the Modified Berne-Norwood Criteria. CT scans before and after initiation of treatment were retrospectively reviewed by one board-certified radiologist to determine if there was progression of hemorrhage. Patients without a follow-up CT scan were evaluated for progression of bleed/neurologic deterioration by review of physician notes, nursing documentation, and Glasgow coma scale (GCS). Results From July 2017 to December 2020, 12,922 patients were admitted to the trauma service. A total of 552 of these patients had TBI and 269 met inclusion criteria. 55 patients had at least one CT of the brain after initiation of prophylaxis. None of these 55 patients had progression of hemorrhage. 214 patients did not have a CT of the brain after prophylaxis. Chart review showed that none of these patients had a clinical decline. Overall, there was no progression of hemorrhage in the 269 patients that met inclusion criteria. Discussion Initiation of the TQIP TBI VTE prophylaxis guideline was found to be safe with no progression of intracranial hemorrhage.