Highlights
- •VTE is not associated with preoperative heparin administration.
- •VTE is not associated with functional status, procedure category, or primary operation.
- •VTE has associations with operation approach (i.e., open vs minimally Invasive).
Abstract
Background
Studies have investigated the utility of preoperative heparin to mitigate venous thromboembolism
risk after surgery. However, whether heparin reduces the risk of VTE following major
thoracic surgery is undetermined. A national heparin shortage beginning in September
2019 provided the opportunity for a natural experiment to explore this question.
Methods
A retrospective analysis was conducted including all major thoracic surgery cases
at a single center from March 2019 to April 2020. The primary outcome was VTE. Two
sample t-tests, Chi-Square analyses, and multivariable regressions were performed.
Results
The study consisted of 890 patients, 391 before the heparin shortage and 499 afterwards.
398 total patients received heparin, 340 before the heparin shortage and 58 afterwards.
On univariate analyses, there was no association between VTE and preoperative heparin
(p > 0.90). This remained consistent on multivariable analyses (p > 0.1).
Conclusion
In this single center analysis, there was no association between preoperative heparin
and the occurrence of postoperative VTE. Analyses in larger cohorts will provide additional
evidence to guide policies on the use of preoperative prophylactic heparin.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 26, 2022
Accepted:
May 24,
2022
Received in revised form:
April 2,
2022
Received:
December 10,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
