Risk factors

All patients admitted to hospital should be individually assessed to identify risk factors for VTE development and bleeding risk. For medical and surgical patients the recommended risk proforma is the department of healths VTE risk assessment tool.

The following inpatients would be deemed at increased risk of developing a VTE:

Medical patients:

• significant reduction in mobility for 3 days or more (or anticipated to have significantly reduced mobility)

Surgical/trauma patients:

• hip/knee replacement
• hip fracture
• general anaesthetic and a surgical duration of over 90 minutes
• surgery of the pelvis or lower limb with a general anaesthetic and a surgical duration of over 60 minutes
• acute surgical admission with an inflammatory/intra-abdominal condition
• surgery with a significant reduction in mobility

General risk factors:

• active cancer/chemotherapy
• aged over 60
• known blood clotting disorder (e.g. thrombophilia)
• BMI over 35
• dehydration
• one or more significant medical comorbidities (e.g. heart disease; metabolic/endocrine pathologies; respiratory disease; acute infectious disease and inflammatory conditions)
• critical care admission