Deep venous thrombosis after orthopedic surgery in adult cancer patients.

Overview

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with cancer and patients undergoing major orthopedic procedures are two groups at risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The objective was to determine the rate of venous thromboembolic disease in patients with a malignant neoplasm and major orthopaedic surgery of the lower limb. METHODS: The study included 169 patients. All patients were given knee-high intermittent pneumatic compression devices for prophylaxis. Postoperative surveillance for thrombosis was performed on all patients with venous duplex doppler ultrasonography. RESULTS: Proximal DVT occurred in 24 of 169 patients (14.2%). One patient (0.6%) developed a symptomatic, nonfatal pulmonary embolus (PE). The development of DVT was not associated with age, sex, type of surgery, type of neoplasm, location, or pathologic fracture. The addition of anticoagulant medication such as warfarin did not significantly reduce the rate of DVT in a subset of 54 patients. In three patients, the DVT occurred only in the contralateral limb, and in four patients, there were bilateral DVTs. CONCLUSIONS: When intermittent compression boots were used for prophylaxis in conjunction with ultrasound screening, the risk of proximal DVT was substantial (14.2%), but the rate of symptomatic PE was low (0.6%).