Extended venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after bariatric surgery does not increase postoperative bleeding...

Area of Science:

• Bariatric Surgery Outcomes
• Pharmacological Prophylaxis

Background:

• An extended venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis protocol using enoxaparin for at least 2 weeks postoperatively was implemented for all bariatric surgery patients.
• The study aimed to evaluate the safety of this enhanced VTE prophylaxis regimen.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the safety of an extended enoxaparin prophylaxis protocol in bariatric surgery patients.
• To compare VTE rates, bleeding complications, and emergency department visits before and after protocol implementation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 327 patients before and 573 patients after protocol implementation (2020-2024).
• Comparison of VTE rates, bleeding complications, and emergency department visits within 30 days.
• Multivariable logistic regression used for statistically significant outcome differences.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in VTE rates (0.9% vs 0.2%), bleeding complications (1.8% vs 1.9%), or overall emergency department visits (5.2% vs 7.5%) were observed.
• Gastric bypass patients showed increased emergency department visits post-protocol (11.5% vs 4.3%, P=.02).
• Multivariable analysis indicated no association between the extended prophylaxis protocol and increased emergency department visits.

Conclusions:

• Extended enoxaparin prophylaxis for bariatric surgery patients is safe.
• The protocol did not lead to increased bleeding complications or emergency department visits.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the impact on VTE rates.