Perception of Chemical Venous Thromboprophylaxis for Oncologic Lung Resections among Thoracic Surgeons

Controversies on chemical venous thromboembolic (VTE) prophylaxis in patients undergoing lung resection for malignancy exist. The available guidelines on VTE do not specifically address its prophylaxis in patients undergoing oncologic lung resections. The goal of this survey was to evaluate the perception of VTE prophylaxis among thoracic surgeons performing these operations.

A self-reported online survey was distributed to 267 active members of the General Thoracic Surgical Club between July and September 2015. The survey consisted of 22 questions related to the use of chemical venous thromboprophylaxis in patients undergoing oncologic lung resection and their impact on outcomes.

Fifty-six thoracic surgeons replied to the survey. The majority of these surgeons (57%) perform both open and thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer. All respondents stated that treatment modality and extent of surgical resection have no influence on their decision to use chemical VTE prophylaxis. Twenty-two (39%) respondents do not use chemical VTE prophylaxis prior to their oncologic lung resections, while the remaining 34 (61%) reported use of anticoagulants prior to them. None of the respondents prescribe extended 30-day VTE prophylaxis to these patients. Forty-nine (87%) respondents believe that chemical VTE prophylaxis is not related to major postoperative bleeding episodes. Forty-five (81%) respondents reported that none of their reoperations for bleeding were secondary to VTE prophylaxis or if it was, that isolated event could be successfully managed nonoperatively.

The majority of thoracic surgeons surveyed believe that chemical VTE prophylaxis is safe and should be used regardless of the magnitude of oncologic lung resections whenever possible. Extended 30-day VTE prophylaxis is not yet used by the survey respondents.