Thromboprophylaxis in lower limb amputation surgery.

Abstract

Background: Lower limb amputation surgery is associated with a high risk of venous thromboembolism. There is evidence that pharmacological thromboprophylaxis is not widely prescribed to patients undergoing this type of procedure.

Objectives: To investigate the profile of the thromboprophylaxis practices of angiologists and vascular surgeons in Brazil during the perioperative period of lower limb amputation surgery and conduct a descriptive analysis of the findings.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study, with simple probabilistic sampling, carried out with angiologists and vascular surgeons working in Brazil. Data were collected through electronic questionnaires, from February to June 2023.

Results: There were 237 respondents, 58.6% of whom conduct thrombotic risk stratification. Of these, 86.3% use the Caprini score. Only 27% of participants stratify patients' bleeding risk. Low molecular weight heparin is the medication of choice for 85.7% of study participants, 78.9% of whom use a dosage of 40 IU per day. Around 46.8% use direct oral anticoagulants in addition to low molecular weight heparin and rivaroxaban is the drug they most often prescribe (94.6%). A little more than half (51.15%) routinely recommend pharmacological thromboprophylaxis until hospital discharge.

Conclusions: The study revealed the heterogeneous nature of conduct related to prescription of pharmacological thromboprophylaxis, highlighting the need for more studies to support prophylaxis decision-making in this patient population.