Rate of venous thromboembolism after complex lower-limb fracture surgery without pharmacological prophylaxis

To evaluate the rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after complex lower-limb fracture surgery without pharmacological prophylaxis.

Between July 2005 and April 2009, 11 men and 6 women (mean age, 45 years) underwent temporary external fixation followed by internal fixation for a total of 3 femoral and 20 tibial fractures. Patients were screened for VTE using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) when the D-dimer value was beyond normal range. Between May 2009 and December 2012, 18 men and 4 women (mean age, 45 years) underwent temporary external fixation followed by internal fixation for a total of 8 femoral and 20 tibial fractures. Patients were routinely screened for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) using ultrasonography and for pulmonary embolism (PE) using contrast-enhanced CT (in high-risk patients with multiple injuries or pelvic and acetabular fractures). In both groups, pharmacological prophylaxis was not used; only mechanical prophylaxis was used.

The 2 groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, and proportion of bilateral external fixation, open fracture, and associated injury, except that the duration of external fixation was longer in the early group (29.8±28.0 vs. 11.6±4.0 days, p=0.001). Of the 17 patients in the early group, 5 developed VTEs (3 DVTs and 2 PEs) at a mean of 13.6 (range, 6-20) days after injury; 2 of whom developed VTE during the external fixation period. Of the 22 patients in the later period, 10 developed VTEs (10 DVTs and 4 PEs) at a mean of 13 (range, 5-33) days after injury; 7 of whom developed VTE during the external fixation period.

The rate of VTE was high in patients undergoing complex lower-limb fracture surgery without pharmacological prophylaxis.