Cost analyses of extended prophylaxis with enoxaparin after hip arthroplasty

Venous thromboembolic complications occur in 50% to 70% of patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty if no prophylactic regimen is used. Because enoxaparin and warfarin are useful for extended outpatient prophylaxis, the objective of this study was to determine which of these agents is most cost effective in preventing venous thromboembolic complications. A decision tree analysis was developed to simulate a hypothetical cohort of patients with total hip arthroplasty. The analysis considered home health care services to perform monitoring and compliance verification. Accounting for prophylactic failures and treatment complications, results showed that enoxaparin maintained a cost effective advantage over warfarin for extended prophylaxis in the time after discharge and total hip arthroplasty ranging from 19 to 31 days after the patient was discharged from the hospital. The duration of cost effectiveness of enoxaparin was reduced to 14 to 17 days when home care services were excluded. These results indicated that approximately 3 weeks of outpatient therapy with enoxaparin is cost effective. With the cornerstone of managed care being cost efficiency in the provision of quality care, this conclusion warrants the development of integrated care strategies for the patient having orthopaedic surgery to achieve cost effective patient management.