Improving use

doi:10.1136/bmj.39226.456991.3A

BMJ 2007;334:1128 (2 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.39226.456991.3A

Letters

Thromboprophylaxis for adults in hospital

Improving use

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Fitzmaurice and Murray remind us that venous thromboembolismis not just a problem among surgical patients but an importantcause of morbidity and mortality in medical patients too.¹

We work in a hospital that implemented a thromboprophylaxisprotocol for medical patients in 2004. In line with the recentrecommendations of the UK government's Health Select Committee,the protocol states that every medical patient admitted to thehospital should have a risk assessment for venous thromboembolismand be prescribed thromboprophylaxis with low molecular weightheparin if indicated. When the protocol was introduced it waswidely publicised within the hospital and made easily accessibleto doctors in the patient's bedside file and on the hospitalintranet.

In the year after the protocol had been introduced we auditedall cases of hospital acquired venous thromboembolism, to assessconcordance with the protocol. We found that only 18% of medicalpatients who had an indication . . . [Full text of this article]

Lucy V Harding, F2 doctor in rheumatology, Cuong Dang, specialist registrar in diabetes and endocrinology, Robert Young, consultant physician and director of clinical effectiveness

Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Hope Hospital, Salford M6 8HD

lvharding@doctors.org.uk