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Hospital patients facing blood clot danger: study

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 November 2005, 10:04 CST

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Hospital patients are in danger of developing blood clots in the legs and lungs because medical staff are not following guidelines to prevent the dangerous condition, researchers said on Tuesday.

A 24-month survey at two British hospitals of 1,062 medical in-patients showed 89 percent had a moderate to high risk of suffering from the potentially fatal blood clots but 71 percent did not receive any treatment to prevent them.

"It is a widespread issue," said Dr Abdul Shlebak, of St Mary's Hospital and Imperial College London.

"This is a global problem. It is not only confined to UK or European hospitals," he added in an interview. "It is time medical societies, governments and people involved did something about it."

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or blood clots in the legs, and pulmonary embolism, which most commonly occurs when the blood clot dislodges to the lungs.

Patients having surgery and those receiving medical treatment for illnesses and fractures may be at high risk of developing blood clots if they have poor circulation or are immobile for long periods of time.

Shlebak and his team said guidelines were followed in surgical wards but were not adhered to as strongly for people admitted to hospital who did not need surgery.

An estimated 10 percent of deaths of medical patients, those not having surgery, in hospital are likely to be directly related to venous thromboembolism, according to Shlebak.

But the condition can be prevented by using blood-thinning drugs or special stockings to improve blood flow.

Shlebak, who reported the findings in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, said patients may not be getting preventive treatment for a variety of reasons including fear of complications such as bleeding and the cost of the drugs. Staff may also be unaware of how important it is for some patients.

Nearly 30 percent of people in the survey had some form of preventive treatment but it was implemented correctly in only 4 percent of the moderate to high-risk patients.

The researchers called for better education for hospital staff to increase awareness about the danger of blood clots. They also said patients should have a DVT prevention sheet attached to their drug charts and hospitals should have dedicated teams to ensure preventive measures are being used.

"Clinicians and policymakers need to act on these findings if we are to reduce the incidence of VTE and prevent fatalities in hospitals," Shlebak added.

Source: REUTERS

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